Text message marketing is a highly effective channel for retail stores, with 92% of U.S. residents owning mobile devices capable of receiving SMS. To build a successful text marketing strategy, retailers should understand their audience, brainstorm relevant promotions, grow their subscriber list, and segment contacts for targeted messaging. The document also offers insights into using keywords and short codes to facilitate customer opt-ins.

1. Text Message
Marketing
for Retail Stores
THE RETAIL MARKETING CHANNEL
WITH THE HIGHEST ENGAGEMENT.

2. 92% of the U.S.
population owns a
mobile device capable of
receiving SMS messages
and that 91% of the U.S.
population owns a
smartphone.

3. 90% of text messages are
opened within the first
three minutes of
receipt.

4. CHAPTER 1
What is
Text Message Marketing
for Retail Stores?

5. Short Message
Service (SMS)
SMS supports alphanumeric
messages of 160 characters
or less. In most cases, SMS is
synonymous with text
messaging.

6. Keywords and
Short Codes
A short code is a five or six digit
number recipients text the
keyword to.
A keyword is a short word or
phrase (12 characters or less) that
customers use to opt-in to ongoing
text communications.

7. Read More About the
Features of Text Message Marketing
SEE ALL THE FEATURES
Up Next… How to Build a Text Marketing Strategy for Retail Stores

8. CHAPTER 2
How to Build an
Effective Text Marketing
Strategy for Retail Stores

9. STEP #1: Understand
Your Audience
A keen understanding of your target
audience will allow you to create
hyper-targeted and relevant text promotions
and offers.
A simple and easy way to better understand
your target audience is to deploy a quick
survey via email or in-store.

10. STEP #2: Brainstorm
Text Marketing Offers
Marketing and sales must align around
text marketing promotions and offers, like
including flash sales, buy-one-get-one-free
promotions, seasonal sales, sales
reminders, and more.
If you’re looking for even more great retail
text marketing ideas, check out our Retail
Text Messaging Playbook

11. STEP #3: Grow Your
List
Consider adding your keyword and short
code to high-traffic online and offline
sources including in-store signage,
receipts, emails, social media, and your
website.
Cross-promoting short codes allow people
to self-opt-in and grow your list quickly on
autopilot.

12. STEP #4: Segment Text
Marketing Contacts
Now that you’re driving prospects and
customers to your text marketing
campaigns, it’s time to organize your text
marketing contacts. Most retail businesses
know that audience segmentation is key
to delivering targeted and relevant text
marketing promotions.
See More Examples...

13. Get more tips in the Retail
Marketing Playbook, and
text message ideas you can
swipe and use in your retail
text marketing campaigns.
GET THE PLAYBOOK