Mobile usage is exploding and becoming an increasingly powerful tool for marketers to connect with consumers around the world. Statistics show that professional text messaging is expected to continue to grow through 2022. While there has been in-depth research into SMS statistics in the past, recent reports are starting to reveal opportunities and help us grasp the scale and potential impact on businesses.

Global Text Messaging Statistics

1. 5 billion people globally send and receive SMS messages. That’s about 65% of the world’s population.

2. 292 million people in North America use text messages — that’s 80% of the total population.

3. The country with the highest percentage of mobile users is Russia where 89% of the population sends and receives text messages.

4. China and India have the most people who send sms messages — China comes first with 1,081 million people and India second with 730 million.

5. The mobile industry had a revenue of $1.05 trillion in 2017. That’s a 1.64% annual increase.

6. 3.3 billion people access the internet via mobile. It’s predicted that by 2025, 72.6% of internet users will access the web via mobile only, using their smartphones.

7. Most people are using smartphones nowadays — 57% of mobile users own a smartphone. In 2020, 3.5 billion people are expected to own a smartphone.

The Future of Texting

8. Globally, the amount of people who send and receive text messages is predicted to rise to 5.9 billion by 2025.

9. Smartphone usage is expected to increase to 77% of the global population by 2025.

10. 4G became the leading mobile network technology worldwide in 2019, with a projected 3 billion connections.

11. There are about 1.2 billion 5G connections predicted globally by the end of 2025. Most of them will be from China the U.S. and Japan, as well as most of Europe since these four areas are leading the world in 5G deployment.

12. By 2025, two-thirds of mobile connections will be on high-speed networks.

13. Researchers predict 6 billion people will send and receive SMS text messages by 2025.

14. By 2025, a predicted 61% of the world’s population will access the internet from their mobile phones.

SMS Marketing Statistics

15. People will definitely see what you send them — SMS open rates are as high as 98%.

16. You can start a conversation — As many as 45% of people reply to branded text blasts they receive.

17. Gain an advantage over your competition — about 61% of marketers still don’t use SMS. If you start now you’ll be on the cutting edge.

18. Even though it hasn’t been fully utilized, across markets, mobile’s use is becoming more commonplace. 52% of business leaders in North America said it’s already a major disruption in their industry.

19. Out of all the consumer behaviors that mobile is changing, 46% of North American marketers said it’s having the most impact on mobile commerce.

20. 40% of North American marketers said the ability to make mobile payments is the most disruptive consumer behavior to come with mobile’s rise.

21. Retail is viewed as the industry in North America using the most innovative mobile marketing techniques by 47% of marketers.

22. Despite statistics on mobile’s rise, 65% of brands still don’t have a formal strategy in place for bulk SMS messaging to take advantage of the amount of time we spend on our phones.

23. Stats show that 73% of businesses expect their budgets for text message marketing and SMS short codes to increase in the next year.

24. About 33% of marketers expect to prioritize mobile loyalty schemes and coupons in their plans for next year.

Other Important SMS and MMS statistics to know for 2022

25. 88% of people surveyed said text was the number one thing they use their phones for, and they use their phones all the time! Data on texting and driving shows that a significant number of people will use their phone to text no matter what they’re doing — even if they’re behind the wheel.

26. Don’t rely on the old methods of getting in touch in 2022 — 90% of brands said they leave voicemails to talk to consumers while 29% of consumers said they don’t listen to voicemails at all. There’s a good chance that if you’re resting on outdated methods your voicemails are going into a black hole never to be heard from again.

27. 92% of U.S. adults carry text-enabled phones, 98% of smartphone users use text on a regular basis, but only 14% of companies text with consumers. There’s a huge opportunity few brands are taking advantage of to reach people in a space that isn’t yet overly crowded.

28. 85% of customers in 2022 prefer receiving text messages over a phone call or email.

29. 70% of consumers want to use mobile messaging to troubleshoot issues. How would it change your business if you offered customer support over text instead of putting people on hold?

30. 68% of consumers would like to use mobile messaging to contact a company with billing questions or concerns.

31. Stats demonstrate that 64% of customers want to use text messaging to make or update a reservation.

32. When it comes to updating or changing a purchase, 64% of customers say they’d prefer to use mobile messaging.

33. A majority of people — 71% of consumers — say using text messaging to communicate with a business was effective.

34. As many as 66% of consumers say they would pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel.

35. More people send text messages than own personal computers or landline telephones.

36. 64% of consumers think companies who text value their time, are progressive and would recommend them to others.

37. 53% of consumers say they feel more positive toward a brand that uses mobile messaging to communicate.

38. 45% of consumers say the ability to send mobile messages is what could convince them to choose one brand, product or service over another.

39. Daily hourly smartphone use increased of 39% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

40. 97% of companies found they communicated with consumers more efficiently after launching texting initiatives.

41. One group of early adopter of MMS for business is insurance agents. A fully 67% of agents send and receive MMS messages to send quotes and claims. They report consumers respond “within minutes” to text messages.

42. 94% of organizations already using SMS for communications would recommend using a mass texting service to their colleagues.

43. Interactive content, like some SMS or MMS campaigns, generates conversions very well 70% of the time, compared to passive content stats at 36%.

44. 95% of millennials send messages daily, while four out of five consumers in total send daily messages.