eCommerce SMS marketing in 2024 [The ultimate guide] 

According to Statista, in 2022, eCommerce brands experienced a notable 23.8% growth in orders due to increased SMS marketing campaigns. 

So, if you run an eCommerce business, SMS should be the most essential channel in your marketing strategy. 

This SMS marketing campaign guide for eCommerce covers

• Types of eCommerce SMS marketing campaigns to build
• Actionable SMS marketing strategy and tips for eCommerce businesses
• The best SMS marketing platform for eCommerce

Let’s begin by understanding the basics of text message marketing for eCommerce stores.

What is eCommerce SMS marketing? 

eCommerce SMS marketing involves using text messages to communicate directly with prospects/subscribers to promote products, offer discounts, and provide updates. 

The top SMS marketing strategies for eCommerce brands open doors to drive massive engagement and sales conversions. 

Here are some eCommerce SMS marketing statistics that will tell you the potential of text messaging:

• About 52% of consumers say SMS marketing messages have influenced purchasing decisions.
• In 2022, eCommerce brands increased their SMS messaging by 62.3% compared to the previous year.
• One-third (33%) of individuals who receive SMS marketing messages engage with CTAs, and nearly half (47%) purchase based on the message. 
• Research reveals that coupons sent through SMS are redeemed at a rate ten times higher than those distributed through other methods. 

Why should you invest in eCommerce SMS marketing – 8 Benefits! 

SMS marketing strategy has numerous benefits for eCommerce businesses, such as high engagement rates, cost efficiency, improved customer retention, and more. 

Let’s study all these benefits in detail:

1. High open and response rates 

The SMS marketing channel boasts an open rate of 98%, with most messages being read within minutes.

This immediate engagement reaction makes SMS an excellent channel for time-sensitive promotions and updates. 

2. Direct communication and youth engagement 

Text messages are delivered straight to audiences’ mobile phones, making them less likely to be overlooked than emails. Plus, there is no dependency on an internet connection. 

Also, younger demographics, particularly Millennials and Gen Z—the massively active online shoppers—are likelier to engage with brands via SMS.  

3. Cost-effectiveness 

SMS marketing for eCommerce is highly cost-effective due to its low cost per message and high engagement rates, ensuring a good return on investment.  

However, note that the SMS marketing eCommerce pricing depends on the service provider you use and the pricing model you opt for. 

4. Enhanced customer engagement and retention 

By sending personalized messages, timely updates, and exclusive offers, eCommerce SMS marketing is a good strategy to keep your subscribers engaged and coming back for more.  

Also, eCommerce businesses can set reminders to announce new product launches and update order status, all of which contribute to a better customer experience and higher retention rates.  

5. Consumer preference and personalization 

A survey revealed that about 58% prefer SMS as the best way for businesses to reach them. This preference makes text messaging a great channel for higher engagement and satisfaction.  

Also, with a robust text marketing platform, you can discover your subscriber’s individual preferences and shopping behaviors to build personalized text, increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

6. Building trust  

With software like text messaging CRM, you can provide timely updates, personalized offers, and prompt customer service to establish a reliable and trustworthy relationship with your audience.  

7. Integration with other channels  

SMS marketing strategy can easily integrate with other channels like email, social media, and website notifications through Chatbot.

This integration creates a cohesive omnichannel strategy that enhances overall marketing efforts and ensures consistent messaging across all touchpoints.  

8. Quantifiable metrics  

Tracking open rates, CTRs (click-through rates), and unsubscribe rates can give insights into your text message campaigns. These insights into SMS campaigns enable eCommerce businesses to refine their strategies for better results based on metrics.

What are the types of eCommerce SMS marketing that drive success? 

If we look into how eCommerce brands categorize their SMS marketing approach, here are the two significant kinds. 

Type 1: Text campaigns 

Campaign-based SMS marketing involves sending promotional messages to a large group of recipients. These can include special offers, discounts, or announcements about new products or sales. The goal is to create immediate awareness and prompt quick action from customers.  

Here are some examples of top SMS marketing campaigns that eCommerce brands run: 

• Sales and promotional text messages: These campaigns include upcoming sales, discounts, and special promotions. 
• Holiday-based campaigns: You can capitalize on special holidays to send targeted promotions and offers. 
• New product launches: Announcing new products via SMS ensures your existing customers/subscribers are among the first to know about your latest offerings. 
• Event announcements: eCommerce stores build SMS campaigns to promote upcoming events such as webinars, live streams, or in-store events. 
• New store openings: These campaigns are to inform your customers about the opening of new physical or online stores. 

These eCommerce SMS marketing campaigns are typically not personalized to individual users but aim to target broad interest and response from a wide audience.  

However, segmenting your SMS marketing list can help you build a more targeted SMS marketing campaign. 

Type 2: Automated SMS

Automated eCommerce SMS marketing includes messages sent automatically based on specific triggers or customer behaviors.

For instance, you can include order confirmations, shipping updates, reminders to complete a purchase left in a cart or personalized birthday greetings.  

Here are the most common types of automated SMS for eCommerce: 

• Welcome SMS: Send a warm welcome message to new subscribers or customers. 
• Promotional SMS: Automate sending personalized promotional messages to segments of your SMS subscriber base. 
• Birthday SMS: Celebrate your shoppers’ birthdays by sending personalized birthday wishes and a special discount or offer. 
• Abandoned cart reminder SMS: Send automated reminders to leads who have added items to their cart but haven’t completed the purchase. 
• Back-in-stock SMS notification: Automatically notify customers when interested items are back in stock. 

Automated SMS marketing for eCommerce effectively maintains ongoing engagement with your subscribers to enhance their experience and support customer retention. 

How to get started with SMS marketing for eCommerce? 

These eCommerce SMS marketing strategy steps will give you a blueprint to act on in real-time. 

Let’s understand them one by one. 

1. Set goals and understand legal requirements 

Setting clear goals before implementing SMS marketing for your eCommerce product is crucial. So, underline your fundamental goals when planning eCommerce SMS marketing, like;

• Increasing X% of sales quarterly
• Boosting customer engagement by X% in the next six months
• Reducing cart abandonment by X% in a month

Defining these SMS marketing objectives will help you measure the success of your campaigns. 

Further, understanding SMS compliance is crucial to avoid penalties and build customer trust. So, here are the regulations—the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)—to check. The TCPA mandates obtaining explicit consent from subscribers before sending them marketing messages.  

2. Choose the best SMS marketing platform 

Having the right SMS marketing platform for eCommerce business is one of the critical decisions for the success of your campaigns.  

The best SMS marketing software offers value features such as automation, segmentation, analytics, and integration with your existing eCommerce platforms. 

We will discuss the top texting software in the latter section of the blog, so keep on reading. 

3. Grow and segment your subscriber base 

To have a successful SMS campaign, you must first have a list of relevant subscriber bases. And, to build one, you can do the following strategies: 

• Collect phone numbers during the eCommerce checkout process. 
• Use website popups and sticky bars to prompt visitors to subscribe. 
• Promote your eCommerce business through emails and social media to win subscribers. 
• Place web forms on your website where customers can enter their phone numbers. 
• Allow users to subscribe by sending a text message to a short code. 

Once you have a list of SMS subscribers, segment them based on demographics, purchase history, behavior, or anything as a unique categorization that helps you build a targeted campaign. 

4. Plan and execute your campaigns 

This step involves two tasks: 

• Planning campaign – Define your campaign type, team members, target audience, and timing. 
• Crafting message – Make sure you craft a concise, personalized message with a clear CTA. 

5. Test, optimize, and integrate 

Top SMS marketers suggest testing your campaigns with some subscribers before shooting to the entire list. 

So, perform A/B testing (sending multiple campaigns to the same audience to determine which messages resonate best with them). 

You can test different elements, such as message content, send times, and call-to-actions, to optimize your campaigns for better performance. This will save you money and give you more clarity about the best SMS campaign to shoot. 

Additionally, determine the key metrics you will use to measure the success of your eCommerce SMS campaigns. The essential metrics for tracking your eCommerce campaigns are:

• Open rates 
• Click-through rates 
• Conversion rates 
• Unsubscribe rates 

Analyze your campaign reports to understand customer behavior and preferences, refine your messaging strategy, and improve future campaign outcomes.

3 Best SMS marketing platforms for eCommerce 

SMS marketing software provides the tools to create, send, and manage SMS campaigns. Here are three top platforms, each with unique features that cater to different eCommerce needs. 

1. Salesmate – Omnichannel solution for eCommerce 

Salesmate CRM platform streamlines communication, boosts team productivity, and improves business growth decision-making. 

The Built-in texting feature enables businesses to send personalized text messages, automate SMS campaigns, and streamline communication. Further, it allows two-way texting, automated follow-ups, and performance tracking. 

With Automation Journeys, you can set triggers for automated messages for abandoned carts and promotional and discount messages. 

It offers comprehensive solutions for eCommerce businesses, from personalization to Analytics, enhancing customer engagement and sales.

Key features to look for: 

• Text messaging CRM: To get massive engagement and deal with personalized and creative SMS campaigns. 
• Segmentation and personalization: You can categorize the subscriber base and build personalized text campaigns based on customer behavior data and purchase history. 
• Campaigns: Target with hyper-personalized marketing campaigns to increase sales opportunities and drive more conversions. 
• Email marketing: Generate leads and drive business opportunities and sales conversions with the email marketing CRM.
• Built-in Calling: Make calls from your CRM and track all conversations with automated recording. 
• Automated messages: Set up automated SMS messages for triggers such as abandoned carts, welcome sequences, and promotional offers. 
• Workflow automation: Create automated workflows to free your reps from mundane, repetitive tasks. 
• Sales reporting: Detailed reports on SMS campaign performance to optimize your current strategy for the best. 

Salesmate has endless growth opportunities to streamline sales with Pipeline Management, Activity Tracking, and Sales Automation. 

Further, the Salesmate CRM software seamlessly integrates with popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. 

Pricing plans: Billed annually 

Basic – $23/user/month  

Pro – $39/user/month – Most popular 

Business – $63/user/month  

Enterprise – Custom 

2. Klaviyo – Email + SMS solution 

Klaviyo is a great marketing automation software that combines email and SMS marketing to provide a comprehensive solution for eCommerce businesses. It focuses on delivering personalized, data-driven marketing campaigns. 

Key features to look for: 

• Unified customer data to personalize messages across email and SMS. 
• Segmentation lets you target subscriber groups based on their past engagement and purchase preferences. 
• Automation to streamline customer interactions from welcome series to post-purchase follow-ups. 
• A/B testing of different messages to optimize performance. 
• Integration with major eCommerce platforms and other marketing tools. 

Pricing plans 

Email – $45/month 

Email and SMS – $60/month

Interesting read: 21 Best BigCommerce apps to skyrocket your eCommerce business!

3. Postscript – SMS-focused solution 

Postscript is a dedicated SMS tool built specifically for eCommerce. It focuses on delivering powerful SMS marketing capabilities that help businesses engage customers through personalized text messages. 

Key features to look for: 

• SMS automation to manage workflows for various customer actions, such as cart abandonment, shipping updates, and promotional alerts. 
• Segmentation and targeting let you build targeted SMS campaigns. 
• Built-in features to ensure SMS marketing compliance with regulations like TCPA. 
• Integration with Shopify and other eCommerce platforms. 
• Analytics and reporting to get detailed insights into campaign performance to optimize strategies. 

Pricing plans: 

Starter – $25/month 

Growth – $100/month 

Professional – $500/month 

Enterprise – Contact us 

Read more: 10 Best SMS marketing platforms & text software

What are the top SMS marketing strategies for eCommerce? 

Implementing SMS marketing strategies can significantly boost engagement and sales for your eCommerce business.  

Here are some of the top strategies you should consider: 

1. Welcome new subscribers 

Greet your new subscribers with a sweet welcome SMS that sets the tone for future interactions. To encourage first-time purchases, you can also include a special discount or offer in your welcome messages. 

2. Share news about time-limited and flash sales 

You can send sales SMS that flash time-sensitive deals. This eCommerce SMS marketing strategy can drive quick traffic to your site and boost sales within a limited timeframe. 

3. Promote occasions and special offers 

Top eCommerce brands like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy use SMS marketing to promote their best deals. This approach can maximize sales during peak shopping periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

So, you must consider this SMS strategy of sending reminders and exclusive early access codes to your subscribers, making them feel valued and more likely to take advantage of your offers. 

4. Send loyalty program updates and personalized messages 

Keep your loyal customers engaged by sending updates about your loyalty program. Note that about 98% of consumers found their loyalty programs relevant and valuable.

So, inform your subscribers about new ways to earn points, special rewards, and exclusive member-only sales. This will keep your loyalty program in the forefront of their minds and encourage repeat purchases. 

5. Send automatic order updates and real-time notifications 

Enhance the customer experience by sending real-time notifications about their orders, including confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notifications. These updates help build trust and keep customers informed. 

6. Recover abandoned shopping carts 

Sending abandoned cart messages is a good strategy to reduce cart abandonment rates and regain lost sales. Therefore, you must set automated reminders to subscribers who have left items in their shopping carts.

Also, you can include a discount code or a special offer in these messages to encourage visitors to complete their purchases.

What are the SMS marketing tips for eCommerce? 

Here are some essential tips to ensure your SMS marketing campaigns are successful: 

Let’s get these tips in detail:

1. Develop a strategic opt-in process 

A robust opt-in process is crucial for building a high-quality SMS subscriber list. Ensure that you obtain explicit consent from new subscribers/customers before sending them messages.

Use clear and compelling language to explain the benefits of subscribing, such as exclusive offers and updates. 

2. Enable SMS opt-in at checkout and use direct-to-text popups 

One of the most effective ways to grow your SMS list is by enabling opt-in during checkout.

So, include a simple checkbox for website visitors to subscribe to SMS updates, and ensure that the opt-in process is straightforward and compliant with legal requirements. 

Direct-to-text popups can capture phone numbers by offering an incentive, such as a discount on their first purchase, in exchange for their subscription. 

3. Add value with exclusive promotions 

Offer promotions and discounts exclusively to your SMS subscribers. This exclusivity makes subscribers feel valued and increases the likelihood that they will engage with your messages and make purchases. 

4. Keep messages concise and clear 

SMS messages have a 160-character limit, so keeping them short, direct, and compelling is the most challenging and needful task.

To maximize impact, ensure your call to action is easily understood and conveys the most essential information. 

5. Maintain a consistent sending schedule 

For a consistent SMS engagement, you need to develop a timely sending schedule for your SMS campaigns. Further, be mindful not to overwhelm your subscribers.

Striking the right balance helps maintain interest without causing unsubscribes due to message fatigue. You can test and experiment by sending text at various times to discover the ideal time for your eCommerce SMS marketing. 

Interesting read: Best time to send cold emails to boost open rates!

6. Identify key buyer journey stages 

Map out the buyer journey and identify critical touchpoints where SMS can enhance the customer experience.  

Whether it’s a welcome message, an abandoned cart reminder, or a post-purchase follow-up, timely SMS messages can drive engagement and conversions. 

This will guide you in focusing on the most relevant campaign for your eCommerce brand.

Read related: Mapping a customer’s journey for achieving better sales results

7. Automate high-engagement flows and real-time updates 

SMS marketing automation strategies for eCommerce ensure timely and relevant communication, enhancing customer engagement. 

To streamline your eCommerce SMS marketing efforts, set up automated workflows for welcome messages, abandoned cart reminders, and order updates.

Use SMS to provide real-time updates about order confirmations, shipping notifications, and delivery updates. Real-time text notifications keep subscribers informed and reduce their need to contact customer support. 

6 Most-interesting SMS marketing examples for eCommerce 

Here are some great examples of how brands increase sales or engagement with smart eCommerce marketing campaigns.

1. Complementing welcome email 

The welcome SMS with a 15% discount is a great move by Chocomania to engage new subscribers and incentivize their first purchase. 

Brands should send this type of SMS immediately after customers subscribe to their list to capitalize on their initial interest and boost conversions.

2. Sending order confirmations and updates

This kind of SMS is sent by eCommerce brands to confirm the customer’s order and provide tracking information. The SMS helps reassure customers about their purchase and keeps them informed about their order status, enhancing their shopping experience.  

3. Automating date-triggered message 

Birthday messages are quite common, and top brands set up such text on automation, like KYC Fashion, offering a 25% discount to help customers celebrate their special day. This is effective because it adds a personal touch and makes the customer feel valued.  

Sending birthday SMS messages a few days before the customer’s birthday or at the beginning of their birthday month to maximize engagement and redemption rates. 

4. Delivering new arrival notification 

BeautySKIN’s SMS introduces a new product with a special incentive to review it, aiming to build excitement and drive immediate interest. Announcing new arrivals through SMS keeps your audience informed and engaged, helping boost initial sales.

When launching a new product, you can build such text campaigns to create buzz and encourage early adoption. 

5. Promoting flash sale 

Lookers Bags’ SMS announces a one-day flash sale with a 50% discount, and this message has created a sense of urgency and boosted short-term sales. Businesses should send these messages just before or at the start of the sale to maximize impact. 

6. Content-driven communication 

Fly By Jing sends a thank-you message and shares a recipe link. Thank-you SMS combined with helpful content, like a recipe, enhances the customer experience and encourages continued engagement.  

You can send this text instantly after the customer receives their order to maintain post-purchase engagement and build stronger customer relationships.

Conclusion 

With an impressive ROI of $71 for every dollar spent, integrating SMS marketing can build stronger customer relationships and drive your business forward.

Start small, measure your results, and scale up to see improvements in customer engagement and achieve eCommerce SMS marketing success.

Also, invest in a solution like Salesmate CRM to watch your eCommerce business grow with advanced automation, omnichannel communication, and sales intelligence.

Frequently asked questions