The news: More than three-quarters (78%) of consumers have made a purchase because of a brand’s text messages, including 65% within the past year, per Vibes’ 2026 Mobile Consumer Insights Report, highlighting SMS as a strong channel where reach and response align.

In fact, 46% of US smartphone users signed up for more text messages from brands over the past year, and 22% want to receive daily texts from brands.

Text message campaigns offer a unique combination of immediacy and intimacy.

• They include benefits like instant delivery, high open and response rates, and direct one-to-one communication, all free from the clutter of social media feeds.
• This makes text an ideal channel for time-sensitive, targeted promotions, such as price drops, sales dates, and abandoned cart items.

The opportunities: One of consumers’ key “wants” when it comes to branded texts mirrors what they want from social platforms—personalization. At the same time, sensitivity around personal data use hasn’t disappeared.

• Over half (58%) want brands to use their personal information to surface relevant offers or sales, and 48% want to know about sales based on their location.
• However, 45% would rather brands use their purchase history, not other personal data, to personalize and customize outreach.

Consumers aren’t just responding to text messages; they’re looking for frictionless paths to act on them. Three-quarters would interact more with brands that offer a digital wallet option for their offers or their loyalty and rewards programs.

This gives brands an opening to turn text campaigns into full-funnel marketing efforts—from notification to checkout—with just a few taps. Pairing SMS with mobile wallets, loyalty integrations, and built-in checkout options can transform text from a promotional channel into a conversion engine.

What brands should do: Prioritize relevance over volume to avoid inundating users with messages.

• Use behavioral signals like purchase history and cart activity to personalize outreach and offer a friction-free path from opening a message to checking out.
• Focus on high-intent moments, such as price drops or limited-time offers, to keep campaigns useful and avoid overwhelming subscribers with constant messaging.