‘The State of SMS’ is a report published yesterday that explores the ways in which the hospitality industry can benefit from the developments that are being made in mobile marketing. It has been found that the number of active mobile phones in circulation has broken the 80 million for the first time. For the hospitality industry, the increase in mobile phones in circulation means that they will see a 29% increase in customers that are opting to receive text messages from their preferred brands by the end of 2020.
Textlocal has commissioned a White Paper that demonstrated 37,2 million consumers have chosen to receive SMS and mobile communications from businesses. Textlocal, one of the leading SMS platforms in the UK has seen that in the hospitality sector, there are already more than 10.3 million customers who have opted to receive texts in regards to reservations, promotions, or offers. It has been predicted that this rate will increase to 13.2 million by 2020.
The opportunity that is becoming available for mobile marketing has been reinforced by Ofcom, who have said that 93% of the UK’s population now owns a mobile phone. However, it has also been found that only 50% of the businesses surveyed use SMS as a part of their marketing strategies. It has been predicted that by next year, this figure could shoot up to as high as 92%.
It is becoming more common for businesses to text their customers directly, for delivery updates, order confirmations and personalised vouchers or offers. Mobiles have transformed the way that we work, rest and play therefore the technology that has developed over the years will benefit businesses and the way that they interact with customers. There are a number of significant opportunities for restaurants, bars and clubs in order to make the most of mobile technologies, especially while customers are opting to hear more from them.
SMS communication has also been seen to perform better for businesses in comparison to mobile advertising and social media platforms.
