Updated January 2024

Whether you're an SMS marketer, tech enthusiast, or simply curious about the ever-evolving realm of SMS messaging, this list of 42 SMS statistics is here to help guide your research.

SMS Usage Statistics

• 5 billion people globally send and receive SMS messages. That’s about 65% of the world’s population (Vodafone).
• Smartphone users send and receive five times more texts than calls (ChicagoTribune).
• 61% of consumers began texting significantly more during the COVID-19 pandemic (Hubspot).
• 75% of Millennials (currently between the ages of 27-42) prefer texting to talking on the phone (Research Brief).
• 93% of U.S. consumers have signed up to receive texts from a business as of 2023 (or are interested in doing so) (Attentive).

Mobile Usage Statistics

• Global smartphone users increased by 49.89% from 2017-2022 (BankMyCell).
• By 2026, mobile users will increase to approximately 7.52 billion worldwide (Bankmycell).
• Americans spend an average of 3.5 hours on their phones daily (Exploding Topics).
• 66% of Americans check their phones 160 times every day (SmallBizTrends).

SMS Versus Email

• The open rate for text messages is 99%, whereas a good open rate for emails is between 28% and 33% (RedEye).
• 41% of consumers would rather receive brand updates via texts than emails (Thrive).
• About 3% of SMS messages are considered spam, compared to nearly 85% of emails (Textedly).
• Approximately 74 trillion emails are sent every year compared to just 8 trillion text messages (Emma McDermott).
• Consumers are 134% more likely to respond to SMS outreach compared to email, and 86% of businesses find that texting generates more engagement than email (Textmunication).

SMS Versus Phone Calls

• 90% of people prefer texting with businesses over a phone call (SMS Comparison).
• SMS response rates are 295% higher than phone call response rates (BSG).
• 80% of people don’t pick up the phone for numbers they don’t know (Pew Research Center).
• Texting versus phone calls statistics suggest that an average person in the U.S. completes six phone calls per day and sends or receives 32 texts (Informate via PR Newswire).

SMS Future Growth Statistics

• The U.S. SMS marketing market is projected to be worth $12.6 billion by 2025 (GrandViewResearch).
• Globally, the number of people who send and receive text messages is predicted to rise to 5.9 billion by 2025 (SlickText).
• Experts predict U.S. mobile commerce will account for 10.4% of all retail sales by 2025, more than two times the pre-pandemic level (InsiderIntelligence).
• The number of smartphone mobile network subscriptions worldwide is forecast to exceed 7.7 billion by 2028 (Statista).
• The global enterprise A2P SMS market size is projected to reach $64.24 billion in 2028 (Fortune Business Insights).

SMS Marketing Statistics

• Businesses worldwide spend over $327 billion on texting (Dexatel).
• 60% of business owners intend to boost their budget allocated for SMS marketing (DDIY).
• 75% of clients want to receive offers through SMS (Techjury).
• 71% of 30- to 44-year-olds said they would text a business more frequently if they had the opportunity. 65% of 18- to 29-year-olds felt the same (ZDnet).
• 43% of business owners and digital marketers report an SMS click-through rate of between 20-35% (SimpleTexting).
• 70% of customers opted into SMS marketing texts in 2022, an increase of 12% year over year (SimpleTexting).
• On average, ecommerce marketers generate approximately $71 for every dollar spent on SMS marketing (Oberlo).
• 53% of surveyed marketers say SMS is one of their top three revenue-driving channels (Attentive).
• 79% of marketers using SMS use it as a retention channel (Attentive).

The Ugly Side Of Texting

Texting is a great way to connect with customers. But there can be negatives when a consumer-centric SMS strategy isn't used.

• 78% of respondents report feeling annoyed by text messages from brands — 28% say they stopped buying from a brand as a result of these unhelpful texts (Validity).
• 84% of respondents say they have received SMS messages from a company they don’t remember signing up with (Validity). (That’s why following proper consent procedures is key!)
• Americans received 225 billion “robotexts” in 2022 (Robokiller).

Other Interesting Statistics

• The average text message open rate stands at 99%, with 97% of messages being read within 15 minutes of delivery (Redeye).
• 77% cited a positive experience with text-based intelligent assistants (Statista).
• Strong customer engagement is the number one reason marketers use SMS (Forrester).
• 64% of businesses said the main obstacle to using SMS was a lack of expertise (Forrester).
• Customers opened 28% more support tickets through SMS in 2021 compared to 2020 (Zendesk).
• SMS can reduce missed appointments by 80% (Voicesage).
• 83% of businesses that text their customers have incorporated AI into their SMS marketing strategy (SimpleTexting).
• Customers opt in to receive business SMS at different rates depending on industry (Contact Consumers).