Mobile messages: Preferred mode of business communication

A survey of 6,000 people from nine countries by global trade body Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) supported by Mblox says that increasing number of businesses are embracing mobile as a communications channel regularly engaging with their customers via text and chat apps.

According to the Mobile Messaging 2016 report released on Tuesday, 66 percent of consumers have used a chat app to communicate with a business. Among SMS users that number grows to 74 percent.

Among top forms of communication with business, one in three has received messages or chatted with a banking or financial institution, while 30 percent have used their phones for two-factor authentication.

When respondents were asked if they had been in touch with a business in the last year, 35 percent said they did so with a messaging app and 24 percent via SMS. This experience, however, varies from country to country.

The most popular services for communication between individuals surveyed are Facebook Messenger (56 percent), WhatsApp (50 percent), and SMS (42 percent).

The survey reveals healthcare sector to be a key growth area. Globally 15 percent of consumers studied have received a message from a healthcare provider via SMS and 12 percent via a chat app. The UK and US lead this space with 19 percent of consumers in both markets engaging via chat apps.

According to the report though chat apps from titans like Tencent and Facebook are on the rise, mobile messaging is not yet a mature market. “So there does seem to be scope for new apps to grab some market share. And the ongoing rise in smartphone ownership and the roll-out of 3G and data bundles should provide market opportunities for all,” the report found.

Messaging on any channel is a “clear opportunity for growth, with 24 percent of SMS users and 35 percent of chat app users currently unengaged,” said MEF CEO Rimma Perelmuter in a statement.