UK retailers are set to send more than 40m text messages over Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas period this year, as SMS remains the best way to connect with consumers on mobile.

Despite the ever-increasing use of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, retailers are continuing to opt for SMS because a text message is far more likely to be opened than an unsolicited email, phone call, or instant message, according to application-to-person (A2P) messaging platform Infobip. In fact, the SMS open rate is 95 per cent, compared to the open rates of as low as 23 per cent for email.

“It’ no wonder businesses see the value of SMS as a customer engagement tool,” said Silvio Kutic, CEO of Infobip. “SMS is now a standard component in any retailer’s digital marketing strategy. High street brands gearing up for Black Friday and Christmas are able to track customers’ online shopping habits and send them SMS updates about their favourite products. Retailers can also apply this intelligence to send customers real-time messages while shopping in-store for the latest deals.”