Best time to send SMS marketing campaigns in 2025

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Timing is everything in SMS marketing. And picking the best time to send SMS marketing campaigns can mean the difference between high engagement and wasted potential. Sending SMS campaigns at the right moment not only improves open rates but also drives conversions and customer retention.

However, determining the ideal time to send SMS messages isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires data-driven decision-making, audience insights, and strategic planning. Factors such as industry trends, customer behavior, and time zones all play a role in optimizing campaign performance.

In this guide, we’ll break down why SMS marketing is essential, the key considerations for timing your messages, and the best practices to ensure your SMS campaigns maximize engagement and results.

What are SMS marketing messages?

SMS marketing messages are the business-related messages sent by brands to subscribers who register their phone numbers. These messages are generally for offering promotions, discounts, flash sales, or special deals during the holiday season.

This helps reach customers directly and build lasting connections with them.

Why are SMS messages important?

SMS messages are one of the most effective methods of direct marketing available in 2025. They provide the following:

• Instant visibility: Most text messages are read within minutes, making SMS ideal for time-sensitive promotions, flash sales, and urgent updates
• Higher conversion rates: According to the latest industry reports, SMS marketing has one of the highest conversion rates in 2025, reaching between 21% and 30% across any industry or niche
• Extremely customizable: Each message in your SMS marketing campaign is tailored based on a subscriber’s location, purchase history, and more
• Not reliant on the internet: SMS doesn’t rely on an internet connection, making it ideal for reaching customers regardless of their location

When should you send SMS marketing messages?

Send SMS marketing messages on weekdays during business hours (9 AM – 12 PM and 5 PM – 9 PM). 

This is the best time to send SMS marketing regardless of the type of audience you have, not only for optimal results but for maintaining a good reputation as well.

Best time of the day to send SMS

The best time of day to send marketing SMS for maximum results depends on your target audience and the type of message you’re sending. 

If it’s about transactions or updates about your business, send your SMS in the morning (9 AM – 12 PM)

If you want to send promotional messages and deals and you work in the retail or food industry, you should focus on sending messages during lunch breaks (12 PM – 3 PM). This is when people are most likely to be looking for food and beverages and window shopping on their phones.

Omnisend research shows that for regular promotions and other types of marketing messages, the best time to send SMS marketing is after office hours (5 PM – 9 PM).

According to the same report, automated messages sent at these times will have an average click-through rate of 9.4%.

Here’s a graph comparing SMS marketing effectiveness across various times of the day:

Additionally, if you want to reach students and young professionals, you could have better results after working hours. 

For parents, the best time to send SMS campaigns is when they’re at home during school hours and before bedtime.

In the case of retirees, the best time for SMS marketing is between mid-morning and early in the afternoon when they’re relaxing.

Best day of the week to send SMS

When it comes to SMS marketing, it’s not just the time of day that must be considered. The day of the week also plays an important role in timing for increased engagement. 

For example, office workers most likely won’t be checking your messages when they’re swamped with work on a Monday. 

According to various sources, the best days to send marketing texts are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. These days likely see higher open and response rates as consumers are more receptive to promotional messages on the days leading up to the weekend.

Also, Thursday and Friday are when the workweek likely winds down. People have more time to check their messages, plan their purchases, and take advantage of limited-time offers.

Additionally, consumers may engage better with promotions on Saturdays, especially for ecommerce, retail, and event-based businesses.

However, to get excellent results, you must perform A/B tests each day of the week to figure out the best time to send SMS marketing messages for your particular campaign.

Best calendar days to send SMS campaigns

The calendar days are not an exception — some are definitely better for SMS marketing campaigns than others. 

For most audiences, the best calendar days to send SMS campaigns are on the first and last days of the month. Outside of these days, the 13th of the month can be considered as well. 

These days are when consumers are most likely to be looking for good deals and making purchases, making it the best time to send promotional SMS to your audience.

Besides that, the best time to send SMS marketing messages is during important holidays, when your audience may be more interested in buying from you. These holidays include Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, and so on.

Factors to consider when choosing a time

Getting the timing right for sending SMS blasts can contribute greatly to the success of your SMS marketing strategy. When choosing the best time to send a text blast, consider these key factors:

Target audience behavior

If you want to increase the ROI of your SMS marketing campaigns, factor in the behavior of your target audience when figuring out the best time to send SMS messages. 

Segment your audience into groups based on key demographics like income, age, gender, and more. From there, you can identify the best time to send SMS marketing messages for each group and know which offers you should promote based on their preferences.

Time zones

Time zones are another big factor that can impact the success of your SMS campaign. This is especially true if you have an international audience or want to expand your reach globally. 

In this case, you must schedule SMS messages according to your target audience’s local time zone. The best time to send SMS marketing messages is when they’re awake and engaged. 

Purpose of the message

The purpose of your messages should also dictate the best time to send an SMS if you want to keep customers engaged and increase your conversion rates. This is because a consumer’s level of interest will vary depending on what type of message is sent: 

• Promotional content: Best sent when people are actively checking their phones
• Order confirmations: Sent immediately after purchase
• Reminders/alerts: Must be sent early in the day to give consumers time to take action

Industry norms

Regarding industry norms for SMS campaigns, there are a few that apply to popular industries. For example, the retail industry tends to achieve higher results during the weekends and holiday seasons.

For the health industry, the best time to send SMS marketing messages is mornings during the weekdays. The entertainment industry benefits the most when SMS are sent on weekends.

Avoiding busy hours

Sending SMS campaigns during busy hours when everyone is working will most likely lower your open and conversion rates, negatively affecting the success of your SMS marketing campaigns. 

You should avoid sending SMS messages during those times. Focus more on moments when people have some downtime during the day.

Previous campaign data

Checking past SMS marketing campaigns’ data can help you determine the times at which your audience engages with your messages. This can help you identify the best time to send SMS marketing messages. 

To take it further, you can conduct a few A/B tests based on that data. Then, compare the results with your previous campaigns to find the best timing.

Legal and compliance rules

There are also some legal and compliance rules, such as the CAN-SPAM Act, that your business must adhere to so you won’t face fines. 

This includes the mandatory hours for sending bulk messages to your customers, with everything after those hours (9 PM – 8 AM) being sanctioned by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The best time to send SMS marketing messages while staying compliant with the law is usually during working hours.

When not to send SMS marketing messages

You should also be aware of when not to send SMS to ensure better audience response and brand reputation. Sending SMS messages at the wrong time can feel intrusive and make your subscribers want to opt out rather than engage. 

Late at night or early in the morning

Sending SMS messages really early or late at night is less than ideal. While we recommend sending messages during your target audience’s downtime, doing it during these times will just disturb them. 

They’ll most likely ignore your messages since they must be about to wind down or prepare to start the day.

During late or early meal times

You also need to avoid sending messages during morning or evening meal times since people have their hands busy and won’t be paying attention to the notifications and SMS they receive.

This is especially true since most people tend to spend this time with family and can become annoyed by constant messages.

Commute hours

Another time you should avoid sending messages to your audience is during commute hours since it’s illegal to look at your phone while driving on the road.

During those hours, people won’t bother reading your text messages to prevent getting pulled over by the police or getting into accidents. 

That’s why the best time to send SMS marketing to your target audience is after their commute, when they have more free time.

However, there are certain exemptions to this rule. For example, sending SMS messages during working hours on Thursdays and Fridays can yield positive results. 

Repeated or overlapping campaigns

Sending repeated or overlapping campaigns may annoy or alienate your target audience since you’re not providing valuable information. Additionally, if you are running two offers at once and are sending promotion messages for both, the customers may get confused and refuse to take action altogether.

Thus, avoid spamming your customers with SMS every hour and never repeat the same message twice. Rather, send one offer at a time to make the most out of it.

Unpermitted hours by law

Sending messages at unpermitted hours can make your business liable to lawsuits and waste money on fines and legal fees.

This is why the best time to send SMS marketing is from 8 AM to 9 PM. Don’t go past these times.

Moments of crisis or major events

You must also avoid sending messages during moments of crisis or major events where there’s a national uproar. During these moments, people won’t be concerned about checking SMS campaigns that offer special discounts or new updates about your business.

Tips for an effective SMS blast

Knowing the best time to send SMS marketing messages only constitutes a portion of what makes your campaign successful. You should also implement the following strategies to increase the ROI and effectiveness of your SMS marketing campaigns:

Keep messages short and clear

Short and clear messages perform best. They’re easy to read and understand, which is perfect for retaining your audience’s attention so they can finish reading the whole message.

Your message should have a maximum of 160 characters. Break down the text and avoid using lengthy paragraphs.

Personalize when possible

Personalized text messages have been proven to generate higher levels of engagement in SMS campaigns.

To do this, you can use dynamic content, which allows you to tailor your messages to the interests of each of your subscribers.

Have a clear call to action (CTA)

Having a clear CTA with a powerful hook that’s 10 words or less is one of the key factors for an effective SMS marketing campaign. Test various CTAs to identify which one yields the best ROI. 

Time it right

Finding the best time to send text campaigns can make a huge difference, regardless of your industry and messaging. Send messages when your subscribers are actively seeking new deals. An example is during holidays or special events.

Segment your audience

Segmenting your audience by income, age, or gender can help you pinpoint which offers have the best results based on personal data.

For example, a luxury brand might target high-income customers with exclusive, premium products. Meanwhile, budget-conscious shoppers may respond better to limited-time discounts or bundle deals.

Create a sense of urgency

Another great tip for sending an effective SMS blast is to create a sense of urgency in your messages. You can achieve this by using limited offers with low price points and sending reminders about deals that are about to expire.

Include an opt-out option

In compliance with TCPA regulations, you should make it easy for subscribers to opt out of your email list. This is why you must include instructions on how to opt out. Doing this will help your business avoid paying fines. 

Here’s an example of an opt-out message you can use in your SMS campaigns:

“You’re receiving these offers as you’ve subscribed to (Brand name) for alerts. Reply STOP to unsubscribe or HELP for assistance.”

Including this message also helps ensure that your SMS list is clean and only comprises individuals who are interested in your brand. 

Track and analyze performance

After launching your SMS marketing campaigns, you must keep track of their performance and always analyze the results. Take note of metrics like click through rates, delivery rates, unsubscribe rates, and more.

This will allow you to tweak your SMS campaign strategy and understand what works best for your audience. Once you’ve cracked the success recipe, you can always replicate and enhance the well-performing strategies that provide a high ROI.

Avoid overloading with messages

Nobody likes to be bombarded with offers and updates all day long. Thus, avoid sending too many messages to your subscribers. Don’t send more than one promotional message per day if possible.

This is especially true if you don’t want them to see your SMS as spam and have everyone opt out of your messages.

Test before sending

Before launching an SMS campaign, always test your message to ensure proper formatting, readability, link functionality, and personalization. You can do this by sending a message to yourself to see how it looks. You should also see how it appears on various devices. 

This helps avoid delivery issues, improves engagement, and ensures a seamless customer experience.

Conclusion

Timing is everything in SMS marketing. Sending messages at the right moment can significantly impact open rates, engagement, and conversions. Based on the latest trends, time your SMS on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and at optimal times like 9 AM to 12 PM and 5 PM to 9 PM. 

However, every audience is different. This is why A/B testing and data analysis remain crucial for optimal results. You can also leverage automation, personalization, and compliance best practices.

To make the most of your SMS campaigns, Omnisend offers advanced SMS marketing features, including segmentation, automation, and real-time analytics. These features can help you reach customers when they’re most likely to engage. 

Get started with Omnisend today and achieve greater SMS marketing success.

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