A rich media message campaign by a plus-size women’s clothing store in the US has produced a 6,600 per cent return on investment. Avenue shoppers were offered a $5 saving on their next purchase when joining the opt-in messaging programme. Adjusting for the cost of the discount, the brand was able to attribute a huge increase in incremental sales to the promotion.

The messages, delivered by Iris Mobile, automatically detect and optimise according to the handset. With 20.9 per cent of Avenues customers still owning feature phones, Avenue believes that this tailored approach prompted the high engagement rates. 97 per cent of the messages were opened.

Avenue now sends coupons and other promotional content every week via rich media messages, promoting the service in-store, online, via email and social media. This has resulted in a 30 per cent increase in their opted-in database every month.

Julie Daly, president of eCommerce, said: “Not only did Iris Mobile’s marketing solution improve customer engagement for Avenue’s messaging program, but also it generates significant growth in our monthly revenue that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.”