Search
Close this search box.

71% of UK consumers want coupons sent to their phones and 60% want brands to talk to them via SMS, finds mBlox study

This is an archived article - we have removed images and other assets but have left the text unchanged for your reference

As many as 71% of consumers in the UK want mobile coupons sent to their phones while they are out shopping and 59% wanting retailers and brands to contact them using SMS, finds a study by mobile transaction network mBlox.

More than three quarters of all consumers surveyed use coupons when shopping, with 29% of UK and 15% of US consumers having already used a mobile coupon. Furthermore, the survey results revealed 71% of UK and 42% of US mobile users said they would be interested in receiving mobile coupons while they are shopping in a store to alert them to a special offer or promotion, indicating a pent up demand for these services.

And this is backed up by the industry. “Our clients, who range from small businesses to large restaurant and retail chains, media outlets and professional sports teams, are seeing mobile coupon redemption rates of up to 25%,” concurs Chad Manning VP of Sales and Marketing of mobile couponing company eNowIt. “This success drives a lot of repeat business but it is surprising that more companies are not yet embracing this medium. Delivered in seconds and redeemed in minutes, no other advertising channel can reach consumers in such a contextualized way.”

Looking specifically at the role of SMS for business communications, 59% of UK and 17% of US consumers surveyed stated SMS as their preferred choice when being contacted about appointment reminders.

“More and more people are turning to SMS for important communications because emails can easily get lost or overlooked in an email inbox,” says Brian Johnson, senior vice president of sales and marketing for mBlox. “Mobile phone penetration in the US is now catching up to the UK and mBlox is experiencing a hockey stick effect in growth for business-to-consumer messaging. Businesses are beginning to give their customers the option of how they want to communicate with them and increasingly consumers are realizing the power of mobile messaging.”

For payment reminders, such as credit card and utility bills, the consumer research showed that more than one in three consumers chose SMS as their preferred communication channel in the UK, but just one in 10 chose SMS in the US.

“To stay ahead of our clients demands in key verticals such as Finance, Communications, Pharmacy and Travel we will launch 15 unique SMS programs this year,” agrees Jennie Hanson, SVP of West Corporation’s Alerts and Notifications business. “We see many companies adding SMS to their customer contact strategy for payment reminders, order ready notices, appointment reminders, customer care, promotions and a variety of other notifications as consumers begin using text messaging to communicate with businesses and not just family and friends.”

Read More

Register for Newsletter

Group 4 Copy 3Created with Sketch.

Receive 3 newsletters per week

Group 3Created with Sketch.

Gain access to all Top500 research

Group 4Created with Sketch.

Personalise your experience on IR.net