Survey Says Customers want Text: Five Stats to Know

The verdict is in – when it comes to customer communication preferences, customers want text.

If you were on the fence about whether or not a solution that lets you text customers is right for your business, look no further. Cloudli  surveyed  1,000 US consumers about their communication preferences with SMBs. The results revealed what many business owners already suspected – customers want to text with businesses, and failing to offer customer text options is a barrier to competing against big online competition.

Stat 1

81% of Customers Want to Text Their Favourite Brands and Businesses   

Across all age groups, there’s a clear desire from customers to text with brands and businesses. And by allowing customers to text, businesses benefit from an increase in sales since texting drives purchasing behaviour: 83 percent of Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z reported that they’d be more likely to frequent a business they can text.

Stat 2

87% of Shoppers Have Gone Online Because Local Shopping was Too Inconvenient

For an SMB, going head-to-head with online behemoths is just a fact of life. And the squeeze felt from the online giants isn’t just anecdotal – nearly 9 out of 10 shoppers have purchased online because it was just that much more convenient.  

Stat 3

93% of Consumers That Want to Shop Small Want to Talk and Text with Businesses

Lest you think that text is the only way to go, take note – customers still want flexibility in how they reach out. People love options, and in our survey, customers noted that they want the choice to call or text a business. In a perfect world, having both options readily available and accessible lets a customer text or call based on their preference at any particular moment. 

Stat 4

Market Drives Demand

Interestingly, consumer preferences for text vary based on the business in question. When reaching out to personal care businesses like salons, spas and barbers shops, nearly 3x more customers prefer to text rather than call. Nearly 2x customers prefer text over voice for restaurants and retailers. So depending on what vertical market your business serves, you may find reliance on text vs voice to vary. 

Stat 5

Text Makes it Easier to Shop Small

In stat 2, we discovered that many consumers have turned to online shopping because of the convenience factor. But in the eyes of 78% of consumers, customer text capabilities make it easier to support SMBs. That’s right! More than ¾ of consumers reported that the ability to text with SMBs made it easier to shop small. And almost ¾ would switch to shopping local if the SMB offered customer text messaging. 

The Verdict is in: Customers Want Text

By now, you should be fairly convinced that your SMB needs a business texting solutions to text customers. Wondering how to get started? Get a free demo  to learn more!