Text Messaging Featured Article

When it comes to mobile communication, there’s no doubt that text messaging (SMS) still rules, with over 7.8 trillion SMS messages sent last year and 5.9 trillion text messages sent worldwide, according to Porito Research and Informa. Pretty good, considering that some companies and experts see SMS as an old dying relic, and therefore favor the building of native apps, Twitter (News - Alert) other services, like WhatsApp, iMessage and other over-the-top (OTT) applications.

But SMS critics are correct about SMS being an old technology; SMS was debuted in 1992, compared to Twitter (2006) and WhatsApp (2009). They’re also correct that Twitter and WhatsApp are a cheaper alternative to SMS; Twitter and WhatsApp have no fees and are both free.

 But apps have only been in the marketplace since 2008 and although they have become popular with the rise of mobile/smartphones, six billion mobile subscribers and one billion smartphones sold within the past three years, only 16 percent of mobile phones worldwide are app-enabled, according to mobiThinking.

SMS, on the other hand, may be older, but it has an established base and is still very profitable, commanding 65 percent of total incomes compared to 8 percent from companies like WhatsApp, Messenger and Blackberry, according to Informa (News - Alert).

And then there are the consumers and their love for text messaging. According to a study by Pew Internet, 73 percent of adults with mobile devices use SMS on their phone at least occasionally, and text messaging users send or receive an average of 41.5 messages per day – with the median user sending or receiving 10 texts daily.

Many consumers don’t care what the experts say about SMS’s demise, probably because they’re too busy texting or liking their current service and phone with no intentions of changing it.

In light of these facts, companies are being persuaded not to invest in SMS, while other companies like Target (News - Alert), Walgreens, Steve Madden and Macy’s are reaping the benefits.

SMS rules – long live the king!

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