OpenMarket – January 12, 2017
Gran is full of surprises. In this latest installment of the OpenMarket SMS Cartoon Series, Sam is impressed with Gran’s grasp of modern technology after she makes an online purchase entirely on her mobile phone.
He is impressed that Gran has been constantly kept up to date on the status of her purchase via SMS. However, Sam is left scratching his head when Gran reveals just what it is she has purchased… a gramophone.
Gran must have purchased her gramophone from a really innovative retailer. Our research shows that despite an overwhelming preference by consumers for notifications via SMS, only the most innovative of retailers are taking note.
In fact, we’ve seen that 77 percent of consumers today are likely to have a positive perception of a company that offers texting as an engagement channel for notifications like package delivery updates, sales announcements, discounts and authentication codes. This is largely due to peoples’ preferences for text messaging in general. Ninety-seven percent of U.S. smartphone owners text at least once a day, and they open their messages within 90 seconds of receiving them.
However, an astounding 71 percent of retailers are currently not addressing their customers’ communication preferences, and consumers are becoming overwhelmingly frustrated with being tied to a phone or computer for customer service needs. In a recent poll, 79 percent of retailers that used SMS with consumers saw either an increase in revenue or improved customer experience.
In the next episode, Sam’s wife shows him a thing or two about choosing the right supplier.