Retail SMS marketing in 2025: Tips and examples

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Retail SMS marketing allows you to connect with your customers instantly, delivering personalized messages, promotions, or updates directly to their mobile devices. This is why such a marketing strategy has become increasingly popular as an effective way to engage with customers and drive sales.

SMS marketing stands out among other marketing channels with its high open rates and the ability to deliver personalized messages directly to customers’ phones. It helps retail stores build stronger, more personal connections with their audience.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll talk you through everything you need to know about retail SMS marketing. You’ll learn the benefits of having a strong SMS marketing strategy, how to implement best practices, and how to use SMS to drive more sales to your retail store.

What is retail SMS marketing?

Retail SMS marketing is where businesses use targeted, timely text messages to engage customers or target potential clients and drive them to take action through SMS messages.

With this strategy, retail stores can send promotions, offer support, and gather feedback, creating a direct and interactive connection with their audience.

Unlike traditional email marketing, which often lands in crowded inboxes, SMS marketing delivers messages directly to customers’ mobile phones. This direct channel ensures immediate visibility.

When used effectively, SMS retail marketing creates a more personalized and engaging shopping experience that encourages repeat purchases.

Retail SMS marketing takes on three distinct forms, each designed to connect with customers in a different way:

• Promotional SMS: These are messages used for marketing or advertising purposes and can include everything from product information to coupons, deals, event announcements, and special offers
• Transactional SMS: Triggered by a specific action, transactional messages provide updates on order confirmations, shipping notifications, and delivery status
• Conversational SMS: This involves two-way texting conversations between businesses and their customers, often for customer support or personalized recommendations

The example below shows a promotional SMS message. Notice how concise and direct the message is with a clear offer. This is effective in capturing customers’ attention and prompting immediate action easily:

Benefits of SMS marketing for retail businesses

Investing in retail SMS marketing can be one of your best business decisions yet. For retail stores looking to add this powerful strategy to their marketing arsenal, here are some ways it can be beneficial:

• High open and engagement rates: According to Forbes, SMS boasts a 98% open rate, far surpassing email and push notifications. This suggests your messages are far more likely to be seen by your audience, ultimately increasing the chances of higher engagement and improved conversion rates.
• Personalized and targeted communication: SMS retail marketing allows you to send personalized messages, such as birthday offers or product recommendations based on purchase history. This personalization helps build customer loyalty and encourages repeat purchases.
• Cost-effectiveness: SMS marketing for retail stores is more affordable than many other strategies like paid advertising, SEO, or digital PR. You can use a free SMS calculator to easily estimate your SMS marketing costs and see how they compare.
• Promotes urgency and limited-time offers: Because most people frequently check their phones for messages, SMS is great for promoting flash sales and prompting action. These messages create urgency and can drive same-day store visits or immediate online purchases.
• Quick and easy setup: Comparing SMS marketing to email marketing, the former is faster and easier to set up. Unlike email marketing, where you need to create templates or design the layout, SMS messages can be written and sent in just a few minutes.
  
  For example, here’s an image that shows how promotional SMS compares to transactional SMS:

Best practices for retail SMS marketing

Before you launch your next SMS campaign, it’s important to know how to do it in the most effective way. 

Consider these best practices for SMS marketing to maximize your results:

• Obtain customer consent 
• Keep messages short and relevant
• Personalize and segment your audience
• Include clear CTAs
• Monitor and optimize campaigns

Obtain customer consent

Getting permission before sending texts is essential for building trust with your customers and staying compliant with regulations like the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act). Doing so will also help you build a valuable SMS list with customers who genuinely want to hear from you, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.

Always be transparent about what customers are signing up for and how often they can expect to receive messages. If they also wish to unsubscribe later, provide a clear and easy way for them to do so.

Here are a few ways to obtain consent for retail SMS marketing: 

• Website popups: Use a popup form on your website to invite visitors to sign up for SMS updates
• Signup forms: Include an SMS opt-in checkbox on your email signup forms or checkout page
• Messaging: Promote a keyword that customers can text to a specific number to subscribe to your SMS list 

Check out Omnisend’s SMS popup below, requiring its audience to enter their contact details to gain access to exclusive deals: 

Keep messages short and relevant

More than ever, people appreciate conciseness. Keep your SMS messages brief and relevant to increase their chances of being read and appreciated.

Here are a few tips to create impactful SMS retail marketing messages:

• Get to the point quickly: State the purpose of your message within the first two sentences
• Use clear and simple language: Avoid jargon or technical terms that might confuse your audience
• Focus on one topic per message: Don’t overwhelm your customers with too much information in a single text

A great example is this SMS by Casetify — a clear message about a sale detailing the offers and a link:

Personalize and segment your audience

Segmentation allows you to send more targeted and relevant messages to your customers and target audience. As a result, you get higher engagement and conversion rates.

Here are a few effective ways to segment your SMS audience:

• Demographics: Group your audience by age, gender, or location
• Purchase history: Use data on past purchases, average order value, or products viewed to recommend relevant products
• Engagement: Categorize customers based on how often they interact with your brand or their response to past SMS campaigns

To further enhance your SMS messages, consider incorporating relevant GIFs to make them more visually appealing. Add links to your website or specific product pages for easy access.

Take a look at Marley Lilly’s SMS sent to a customer who previously engaged with the brand. The message feels personal, encouraging quick action:

Include clear CTAs

Every SMS message should have a clear CTA to help guide your customers towards the desired action. The CTA tells your customers what you want them to do, be it visiting your store, making a purchase, or signing up for an event. A well-crafted CTA can significantly increase your conversion rates.

When creating your CTAs, make sure they’re specific, actionable, and easy to follow. Use strong verbs and create a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action. Typically, a CTA that emphasizes benefits performs better than one that simply states features.

Here are a few examples of effective CTAs:

• “Shop now and get 17% off!”
• “Click here to browse new arrivals”
• “Visit our online store today and get a free gift!

As a prime example, this SMS from Hot Topic uses a fun and urgent CTA. It prompts customers to shop by saying that the deal might not last, which gives an impression that this is a limited-time deal:

Monitor and optimize campaigns

Tracking your SMS analytics will help you maximize your SMS retail marketing efforts. Pay attention to key metrics like:

• Open rate: How engaging is your message content? The open rate, which tracks the percentage of delivered messages that were opened, can provide insight into this. 
• Delivery rate: This is the percentage of messages successfully delivered to your customers. A low delivery rate could indicate issues with your SMS provider or inaccuracies in your customer database.
• Click-through rate (CTR): This metric measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link in your text. Knowing how to strategically send a link in a text message can boost your CTA’s appeal and accessibility.
• Conversion rate: The ultimate measure of your SMS campaign’s success is your conversion rate. It shows how you’re driving desired outcomes by measuring the percentage of recipients who completed a desired action.

Here’s what Omnisend’s overview looks like. At a glance, users can see data on total SMS sent, revenue generated, CTR, and campaign costs:

Retail SMS marketing strategies to boost sales 

Strategizing your SMS campaign can give you better results. Instead of sending random messages, a well-planned approach ensures your messages are targeted and effective. This helps drive higher engagement and conversions.

To improve your retail store SMS marketing and boost sales, follow these expert-recommended strategies:

• Exclusive promotions and flash sales
• Cart abandonment reminders
• Event-based marketing
• Loyalty program updates

Exclusive promotions and flash sales

Everyone loves a good deal! Use SMS to deliver exclusive promotions and flash sales directly to your customers. By creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency, you can encourage customers to make a purchase right away.

Flash sales or exclusive offers are a great way to reward loyal customers. They can also re-engage those who haven’t interacted with your brand recently, potentially turning them into loyal customers.

Here are a few ideas:

• Surprise flash sale: Send a text announcing a limited-time flash sale with an unbeatable discount on select items
• Early access: Give your SMS subscribers exclusive access to new products or sales, incentivizing them to sign up
• Exclusive discount codes: Offer unique discount codes that are only available to your SMS subscribers

Cart abandonment reminders

Cart abandonment is a common challenge for online retailers. It occurs when a shopper adds items to their online cart but leaves the website without completing the purchase.

This can happen for many reasons, such as unexpected costs, a complicated checkout process, or simply getting distracted by something else. Cart abandonment SMS reminders can help recover lost sales and bring customers back to complete their purchases.

Here’s how it works:

• When a customer adds items to their cart but doesn’t complete the purchase, it triggers an automated text message
• The message gently reminds them of the items they left behind and includes a direct link back to their cart
• To encourage them to complete the purchase, you can offer a small discount or free shipping

See this example of an SMS reminder about cart abandonment from FY Zoe. It incentivizes its audience by providing a discount: 

Event-based marketing 

SMS can be used to connect with customers on special occasions and make them feel valued. Timing your texts around specific events allows you to cash in on trends. It also increases their relevance and impact.

Work with these SMS marketing for retail examples to inspire your strategy:

• Birthday messages: Send personalized birthday messages with a special discount or offer to make your customers feel special
• Holiday promotions: Promote holiday sales and special offers with themed SMS campaigns around the holiday season
• Seasonal campaigns: Announce new arrivals or seasonal collections with relevant SMS messages to keep your customers informed about your latest products
• Contests and giveaways: Host event-based contests or giveaways to generate excitement and encourage participation

Loyalty program updates 

Do you have a loyalty program? SMS is a great way to keep your members engaged and informed. 

Don’t have one yet? Then, you’re missing out on a powerful strategy to encourage repeat purchases, reward loyal customers, and boost overall sales.

Every effort that goes into increasing customer loyalty is well worth it. Using SMS to share updates, rewards, and exclusive perks keeps your program at the top of your mind and encourages continued engagement.

Consider these suggestions to ensure the success of your loyalty program:

• Points updates: Send regular updates about their points balance
• Early access: Give loyalty members early access to promotions or new product launches
• Exclusive offers: Offer exclusive discounts and perks to your loyalty program members via SMS
• Tiered program updates: Use SMS to inform members about their progress and the benefits of reaching higher tiers

Choosing a retail SMS marketing service provider

When selecting an SMS marketing platform, you must understand that not every tool will align with your business needs. To ensure success, take a deliberate and thoughtful approach to selecting the platform that best supports your goals.

Here are some key features to consider when evaluating a retail SMS marketing provider:

• Ease of use: Choose a platform that’s intuitive and easy to navigate, even for complete beginners
• Automation capabilities: Look for advanced SMS marketing automation features that can send trigger-based messages like welcome greetings, order confirmations, and abandoned cart reminders
• Personalization options: Ensure that the platform allows you to personalize messages with customer names, purchase history, and other relevant data
• Segmentation features: Look for the ability to segment your audience based on various criteria to deliver highly targeted messages
• Analytics and reporting: Select a platform that provides detailed analytics so you can track and evaluate your SMS campaign performance
• Integrations: Verify that the platform integrates seamlessly with other marketing tools and ecommerce platform
• Pricing: When evaluating SMS marketing pricing, determine your budget and choose a plan that fits your financial and business needs
• Customer support: Look for a provider with excellent customer support to ensure assistance when needed

With these features in mind, you can find the best tool to fit your business needs. Platforms like Omnisend have global SMS marketing capabilities. Omnisend also provides advanced segmentation, automation, and personalization features to help businesses boost customer engagement and sales. 

Alternatively, Klaviyo is known for its advanced segmentation and ecommerce integrations. Then, there’s Active Campaign, which combines SMS, email, and CRM features for seamless customer engagement. 

Conclusion 

Clearly, retail SMS marketing is no longer just an option but a business necessity. With its high open rates, personalization, and ability to drive immediate action, SMS can significantly impact your bottom line.

By implementing the strategies and best practices outlined in this guide, SMS marketing can help you increase revenue, reduce cart abandonment, build stronger customer relationships, and enhance customer lifetime value.

The success of your retail store hinges on how well you engage with your customers. When executed correctly, retail SMS marketing can turn one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers.