SMS marketing benchmarks and statistics by industry 2024

While one-time email and SMS campaigns often get the glory, automated flows (like abandoned cart or post purchase messages) generate up to 30x more revenue per recipient* than campaigns because they are so timely and targeted.

Of course, campaigns still drive plenty of purchases—and can be even more effective with smart segmentation—but marketers who want to drive revenue while they sleep will do well to focus on their flows.

*Based on the difference between average RPR for email campaigns ($0.11) and average RPR for abandoned cart flows ($3.65).

Most industries saw only marginal changes from one quarter to the next across average open rate, click rate, and placed order rate.

The exception to this: some industries, like food and beverage, saw higher placed order rates and revenue per recipient in Q4 2023, but the largest increases are less than $0.04 in RPR, primarily in SMS marketing.

What does this mean for the wider ecommerce industry?

• These days, shoppers expect sales all year, not just on Black Friday—year round, brands often compete for consumer attention with clever discounts and limited-time offers.
• Brands that want to excel beyond the average will need to go beyond discounts to develop smarter digital relationships. Effectively using customer data for smarter segmentation and better personalisation is key to standing out.