SMS is the new must-have shopping tool for small business

The latest findings from MessageMedia’s Retail’s Tech Revolution report has revealed a strong increase in the number of Aussies connecting with businesses via SMS.

According to the report’s findings, 40 per cent of Australians have visited an online or physical store as a result of receiving an SMS from a retailer.

Shopping habits change

While Aussie business owners have yet to fully embrace SMS as a marketing and sales trigger, MessageMedia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tara Salmon, said the study has revealed consumers react well to the tactic.

“We’ve seen our SMS communication technology implemented by retailers for both in-store and online marketing campaigns, and demand for our platform continues to grow exponentially even after COVID-19 lockdowns. It’s important that retailers of all sizes – from Mum and Dad shops to major national labels – keep up with technology as shopping evolves.” Salmon said.

Not all shoppers will return to shopping at physical stores

Shoppers however remain split on the return to physical stores. 39 per cent of Australians are eager to stroll the aisles of their favourite shops, however, 41 per cent plan to continue to shop online at the same volume as during the pandemic. Meanwhile, one-third of men are still concerned about health and safety risks of in-store shopping, compared to almost a quarter of women (24 per cent).

“While our research shows a quarter of Australians want to avoid the shops this peak sales period and indefinitely into the future, there’s still a significant group that are keen to ‘hit the stores’ for deals once more. With Aussies split on how they want to shop going forward, it’s important for retailers to be prepared for both online and physical shoppers in the weeks, months, and even years ahead,” Salmon said.

The new research also reveals four new Australian shopper personas, the digital devotee, the experience enthusiast, the local legend and the relutctant returner. Australians were most likely to be Digital Devotees (31 per cent) or Experience Enthusiasts (31 per cent), followed by Local Legends (26 per cent) and Reluctant Returners (12 per cent).

The personas

Digital Devotees

Turning to online retail out of necessity during the pandemic and not looking back, nearly a third (31 per cent) of Australians will do all they can to avoid shopping in actual stores again.

42 per cent are under 34 years of age and 85 per cent are under 54 and show no signs of slowing down their online spending
61 per cent plan to continue shopping online at the same level as the pandemic
37 per cent agree that it’s no longer necessary to shop in store.

Reluctant Returners

Not overly fond of the retail experience in general, 12 per cent of people are all about speed and convenience and prefer to shop online – but will occasionally go in-store.

A third (34 per cent) reporting that they are still worried about the health and safety risks of shopping in store.
Half (50 per cent) of this persona is aged 34 and under.

Local Legends

A quarter of Australians (25 per cent) prefer to support shops close to home, seeing themselves as Local Legends.

42 per cent are excited about being able to shop in-store again, with a further 43 per cent will only shop online only if it’s something they can’t buy in store.
The oldest of the four personas, 40 per cent are 55 years of age or more
80 per cent of this group prefers to shop at small and independent retailers and 40 per cent prefer to avoid big shopping centres

Experience Enthusiasts

Almost one-third (31 per cent) of Australians will seize every chance they can get to return to physical stores for the traditional shopping experience.

42 per centare excited about being able to shop in-store again because they missed the social aspect and overall experience of traditional shopping
They are far more likely to be female than males (58 per cent vs 42 per cent)
Young people are still looking for traditional experiences, with 44 per cent under 34 years of age.

You can download the findings from the full report here

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