The Lowdown on Text Commerce

As the epic battle for consumer attention continues, more businesses will be trying to find new ways they can actively engage and attract customers. With email inboxes flooded and social media algorithms constantly changing, there’s no easy way to directly communicate with consumers and spread your brand messaging. Yet, that’s exactly what text commerce aims to do. 

What is Text Commerce?

It’s by no means a new strategy. Ecommerce marketplace giant Amazon even launched a service in 2008 called TextBuyIt, so while it may seem unheard of, it’s actually not the case. 

Text Commerce is relatively self-explanatory from the name. Merchants use a text messaging service as a way to interact with customers. The difference between this and a normal promotional or delivery update text message is that the customer can also make purchases via the text message itself.

The theory is, this eliminates all other noise and a purchase can be made by simply sending ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a text. Text messages are way more personal and often read more instantly than an email. They’re also sent directly to consumers so you can cut through online noise to make sure your message is seen. 

Some ecommerce platforms may put in API restrictions to disallow text commerce, so it’s worth checking whether your platform has these in place. Our partner BigCommerce integrates with several of the leading SMS providers, meaning you’ll have access to the full scope of marketing channels. 

What Content Do I Send Via SMS? 

Text Commerce may be more beneficial to some businesses than others, but there are a variety of ways you can use SMS to boost your business.

Order Updates

Update your customers with where their item is in the order process. This builds trust and loyalty, keeping your customers coming back time and time again.

Abandoned Cart

We’ve all heard of abandoned cart emails but a text message is more likely to be acknowledged. You could even send a discount code as a way to entice the customer to complete the purchase.

Promotional

Send your customers a text-only offer. Buy multiples for a discounted price or offer free delivery when they reply to the text message.

Customer Support

Chatbots can be a bit hit and miss, but most of us will say we definitely appreciate talking to a fellow human when experiencing a problem. Respond to any customer queries via text message – you can sort the issue out sooner and the customer will appreciate how easy the process was.

Customer Retention

If you offer a subscription-based service, sending a text reminder to renew your subscription when it’s up is a great way to ensure you don’t lose those customers. 

When used correctly, text commerce can be a great marketing tool and ecommerce platform in one. It might not work for every business, but there’s definitely opportunities there to build on your existing customer relationships.