Email or SMS for Online Stores?

By Junaid Imdad, Email Marketing Specialist & Content Strategist.

In the fast-paced world of eCommerce, where each click, swipe, and ping could lead to sales or misses, marketers often grapple with one question: Which strategy drives more revenue?

As an experienced digital content strategist with five years of online marketing under my belt, I have witnessed how both email and SMS marketing channels can significantly boost a brand's sales trajectory when used properly. If you're making decisions between email and SMS marketing or prioritizing one over the other, this post will present real-world benefits of each approach, supported by data and personal insight.

Understanding the Basics

What Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing refers to the practice of sending targeted messages via email to an audience of subscribers. These may include promotional offers, product launches, newsletters and cart abandonment reminders - among many other uses. Email is a proven channel with various automation and segmentation tools being added all the time.

Typical Applications:

(Weekly newsletters, product promotions and drip campaigns).

Cart abandonment reminders will also be sent.

What is SMS?

SMS (short message service) marketing entails sending text messages directly to consumers' mobile phones, typically at an open rate that often exceeds 90% and offering one of the quickest ways of engaging consumers, especially when time-sensitive matters need immediate resolution.

Use Case Examples:

(flash sales or limited time offers).

• Order and shipping notifications available
• Customized discount codes
• Event reminders or new product alerts

Let's face it - email inboxes can be an unforgiving place, between spam filters and overcrowded promotions tabs, even the best-crafted emails can quickly disappear into our inboxes. According to Campaign Monitor's data, eCommerce brands typically experience an average email open rate between 20-25%.

SMS marketing boasts open rates of over 90%, often within minutes after delivery!

Real Talk: SMS will generally outperform email for promoting time-sensitive campaigns such as flash sales. Their immediacy makes text messages perfect for such efforts.

Conversion Rates Aren't Always an Easy Call

Open rates only tell half the story when it comes to conversion. What really counts are conversions - how many customers purchase after engaging?

Omnisend's 2024 report suggests:

Email campaigns typically experience a 6% conversion rate.

SMS campaigns typically reach 8-12% success depending on offer and timing considerations.

These numbers vary significantly based on context: for example, SMS may work better for weekend-only sales while email can provide greater detail.

Personalization and Content: Email Offers Greater Versatility

If you want to tell a compelling narrative, share multiple images, or include educational material, email is unmatched in its versatility. Use rich media, segment lists, test subject lines, or customize entire journeys for greater engagement with recipients.

SMS allows for up to 160 characters (unless using MMS), so it forces you to be concise and direct in your communication. There can be great beauty in shortness; however, too little words could lead to vague or overly promotional messaging.

Example

• Email : (to be sent) "Introducing our brand-new vegan skincare range! Click to explore ingredients, customer reviews and take advantage of a 15% discount!"
• SMS: "Vanilla skincare is now available! Take advantage of it now to take advantage of a 15% discount: [link]."

Customer Preferences: Dependent on Relationship

Customers today expect brands to communicate in ways that fit with their lifestyles; some prefer long-form emails they can peruse at lunch, while others require shorter and snappier communications that get straight to the point.

Recent surveys demonstrate:

• 65% of consumers prefer receiving promotions via email.
• 30-40% of SMS users prefer using it for order updates and urgent deals.

Therefore, rather than picking one over the other, a more strategic solution would likely involve using both approaches simultaneously.

Email Is More Cost-Effective Than SMS

Email marketing tends to be less expensive than SMS in terms of cost per subscriber count; many platforms charge a flat monthly fee based on subscriber numbers versus SMS providers charging per message sent.

Here's an approximate breakdown:

Emails cost between $0.001-$0.02 per message sent.

SMS Text Messaging costs between $0.05-$0.15 per message depending on volume and region; message volume increases this fee further.

If your budget is limited, email may be an ideal long-term channel for cultivating leads and forging relationships.

Compliance and Privacy: Both Require Care

Both email and SMS marketing fall under strict compliance regulations such as CAN-SPAM Act (for email) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA; SMS). Clear opt-in mechanisms must be included, with recipients having an easy means of opting out at any time.

SMS violations tend to carry more severe repercussions due to their more personal nature and stringent regulations.

Whatever route you take, ensure your data collection and marketing practices follow all regulations.

Email Vs SMS

For Marketing Utilise Email When to Utilize SMS on These Occasions [EMAIL, SMS], Situation (FLASH SALE/Product Launch/Cart Abandonment), Shipping Confirmation and Weekly Newsletter Delivery are among the five Benefits of Email Marketing: Aside from low per message costs and scaleability, there are other great advantages of Email Marketing as well. It can help reach more prospects without incurring high per-message costs; Email is cost-effective with low message per user rates per message sent versus SMS advertising costs per user base/cart abandonment in cart abandonment/cart abandonment scenarios or for Re-engagement purposes vs SMS Marketing Cost Effective: Scalable with low per-message costs while scaling is easy; there is less impactful per message delivered per user than SMS Marketing in terms of cost per-messaging cost per message delivered compared with SMS Marketing as it allows scalable low per-mess message costs per message delivered and higher customer engagement via emails than SMS marketing:

1. Cost Effective: Scalable with low message cost per message sent out; it scales easily while giving the best return per message cost per message outlay out there is less impactful per message outlay costs when used properly using both scalable volume pricing on messaging costs than SMS cost per message costs associated with scalable messaging costs per message received and costs involved for businesses looking at doing these types of messages sent.

2. Design autonomy: Take full advantage of visuals, GIFs, and long-form content by adding visuals and long form pieces into your designs.

3. Automation-friendly: Create complex and behavior-based drip campaigns quickly and effortlessly with automation-friendly tools. Track opens, clicks, heat maps and more with detailed analytics. Better for storytelling: Inform, engage and form brand loyalty.

Final Thoughts:

Not Either/Or; It's Both As an online store owner or eCommerce marketer, don't consider email and SMS an either/or proposition; smart brands use both in tandem as part of an integrated strategy.

Email excels at storytelling, education, and brand building; while SMS delivers instantaneous, urgent reminders.

Here is how an actual brand might structure their funnel:

• Email 1: Product announcement with story, details and value props.
• Email 2: 24 hours later, I sent another reminder and testimonials.
• SMS: Final two-hour countdown with an exclusive discount offer.

Ultimately, it doesn't have to be about choosing either email or SMS; the key question should be how I can use both channels effectively in ways that feel natural and beneficial to my customer base?

Are you having difficulty setting up email and SMS funnels? I can help. I have assisted numerous eCommerce brands increase conversions using ethical, user-first marketing. Let's connect today so we can discuss.