COVID-19 had a negative impact on most businesses, particularly retail brands that operated as brick and mortar shops. As brands spread their marketing dollars across various channels in the post-COVID era, one thing is clear from the e-commerce point of view: marketing teams are betting heavily on opt-in marketing channels such as email, SMS, and even push messages. Omnisend’s research reveals that in 2021 brands sent 63% more email, 94% more SMS, and 171% more push messages than in 2020.

Not only did sends increase but brands using these channels were rewarded with more orders than ever before. Year-over-year, email marketing orders increased 86%, SMS increased 106%, and push messages increased 171%.

Email, SMS, and Push Marketing Statistics for E-Commerce Brands in 2022

The findings are part of Omnisend‘s report, Email, SMS, and push marketing statistics for e-commerce in 2022. The research analyzed the performance of 12 billion emails, 63 million SMS, and 54 million web push messages sent by Omnisend merchants in 2021.

In addition, the research shows brands are increasing their use of marketing automation. While merchants sent 396% more promotional push messages, they sent 699% more automated messages than last year. SMS promotional campaign sends increased 75% while automated sends increased 258%. And promotional email campaigns increased 63% while automated emails increased 93% year-over-year.

Opt-in Channels Like Email Are the Consistent Lifeblood for E-Commerce Brands

As paid marketing channels become more crowded and expensive, opt-in channels like email are the consistent lifeblood for e-commerce brands.

Other marketing highlights of the report include:

• Automated emails generated nearly 30% of all email marketing orders while accounting for only 2.2% of email sends.
• 34% of those who clicked on an automated email went on to make a purchase.
• The impact of iOS 15 on email marketing is evident. Open rates increased 59% compared to the nine months before the update was released.
• Conversion rates for web push messages are an astounding 28%—meaning 1 of every 3 people who click on them make a purchase

How to Succeed in Today’s Environment using Martech Tools?

The CEO and Co-Founder Rytis Lauris said that Omnisend’s mission to provide affordable and sophisticated email, SMS, and web push notification marketing to ecommerce businesses of all sizes is essential to help businesses succeed in today’s environment.

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“E-commerce is evolving in front of our eyes. We’re witnessing brands recognize the value of using opt-in marketing channels to increase their online sales, and this is further evidence of their sales potential,” Lauris said. “First it was email, then SMS, and now push messages. Brands utilizing all three of these permission-based channels will continue to see their sales increase.”

Pointing to the adoption of these channels inside of automation workflows, Greg Zakowicz, E-commerce Marketing Expert at Omnisend, said brands are waking up to the importance of behavior-based messaging.

“Automated messages have outperformed promotional campaigns for years, and for a good reason, but it’s no longer about a single channel,” Zakowicz said.

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Greg added, “Brands are smartly evolving to meet consumer preferences by sending relevant and timely automated messages to consumers via multiple channels of their choosing. They’re listening to consumers and are being rewarded for it.”

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]