Year-End-Recap: How Each Marketing Channel Performed in 2023

• Discover how email, SMS, social media, omnichannel marketing, and more performed in 2023 across the board and within demographics.
• Learn the most important takeaways from marketing in 2023 to discover trends: where the momentum is and what’s losing ground.
• Review some of 2023’s most important marketing statistics across various channels and see what they indicate for marketers in 2024.

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Year-End Review: SMS Marketing in 2023

“90.09% of businesses that text their customers report that their marketing is successful,” – SimpleTexting research.

It is estimated that in 2023, around 6.89 billion people owned smartphones. In the US, this translates to 97% of adults owning mobile phones, with 85 percent of those being smartphones. This means businesses have the potential to reach just about everyone.

With this kind of reach, and as you’ll see, incredibly high engagement, it’s no wonder that in 2023, 67% of businesses increased their SMS marketing budgets.

Astounding open rates & engagement

“On average, over 95% of SMS messages are opened and read within the first 3 minutes of delivery,” – LinkedIn

There have been numerous studies of average open rates for SMS campaigns in 2023, with a number landing between 95-98%, and being read within the first 3 minutes of delivery.

Comparatively, open rates for email average only 20-30% for most businesses.

Another study found that 80.5% of consumers check their text notifications within five minutes of receiving a text. Along demographic lines, Gen Z, ages 11-26, check their text messages once every 10–30 minutes.

“77% of consumers reply back to a text within ten minutes,” – SimpleTexting survey 2023

Comparing the above statistic, only 28% of consumers reply to an email within ten minutes. Worse, 33% of consumers take hours to reply to an email.

But the most important takeaway here is how active and engaged these consumers are on this channel. On an average day, consumers check their text messages more than any other app on their phone. Even more than social media!

“71% of consumers have subscribed to receive text messages from at least one business in the past year,” – SimpleTexting survey 2023

Among the consumers above who have chosen to receive text messages, the demographic groups with the most subscribers are women and Generation X.

Interestingly, 66% of consumers want to receive support notifications from a business via SMS. Disappointingly, only 23% of companies bother to send them.

AI & SMS marketing

Another trend that rose in 2023, and is expected to increase next year, is the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into SMS marketing.

83% of businesses that send text messages to their customers incorporated AI into their SMS marketing strategy in 2023.

The best time to send SMS messages

According to a study by Attentive, between 1 PM and 5 PM is the best time to send SMS marketing messages. Recipients are easiest to reach during these hours and are most likely to be active and engaged. These four hours have been shown to achieve the highest click-through rates and the maximum revenue per sand.

Industries with the most SMS opt-ins

Certain industries lend themselves to higher opt-in rates than others. A 2023 survey revealed which industries consumers are more likely to opt-in to receive text messages from:

• Healthcare: 55.4%
• Banking/Finance: 46%
• E-commerce/Retail: 45.9%
• Travel: 24.4%
• Technology: 22.2%
• Veterinarians: 18.1%
• Auto/Car servicing: 16.4%
• Insurance: 14%
• School/Education: 13.5%
• Hospitality: 11.7%
• HR/Recruitment: 10.5%
• Home Service Professionals: 9.5%
• Gyms: 7.3%
• Real Estate: 5%
• Nonprofits: 5%
• Other: 10.4%

SMS: Offers

“75% of clients want to receive offers through SMS,” – Techjury

Receiving offers through text messages (coupons, promo codes, freebies, etc.) is something high on the wish list for the majority of SMS subscribers and a major motivation for why consumers sign up in the first place.

Interest Media can help you with co-registration offers and lead generation

Interest Media owns and operates several properties that can help publishers with co-registration offers and other forms of lead generation. Among the properties are “The American Sweepstakes,” Free Samples Pro USA,” “Top Survey Spot,” and “Prime Reward Spot.”

Among the available traffic types are co-registration, host & post, offerwalls, linkouts, and warm transfer calls. Offer categories such as insurance, debt, home services, mass torts, and more are available.

In all of its advertising efforts, Interest Media puts its primary focus on the consumer. Interest Media understands that the most important component of a successful advertising campaign is the positive experience of the consumer.

Looking for an SMS marketing solutions provider?

Interest Media offers SMS and complete omnichannel solutions.

With specialized tools that are built for performance, Interest Media delivers thousands of exclusive offers, derived from the internet’s most valuable consumer verticals, to publishers seeking increased earnings.

Take a moment to fill out the form below and one of our brand promotion specialists will get right back to you. We pride ourselves on being able to bring advertising partners the exact consumers they’ve been looking for, and we can’t wait to show you how it works.

Year-End Review: Email Marketing in 2023

“77% of marketers said they have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months,” – HubSpot

Email marketing is far from dead. On the contrary, it is growing and is expected to grow by an estimated $7 billion over the next four years. According to an estimate by Constant Contact, worldwide revenue for email marketing in 2023 was expected to reach more than $10.89 billion. The projected number of emails estimated to be sent in 2023 was around 347.3 billion and projected to be somewhere near 4 billion by 2026.

“37% of brands say they are increasing their email budget,” – HubSpot

Despite the popularity of text messaging, push notifications, social media, and in-app messaging, 55% of consumers say email is their most preferred means of communication when it comes to keeping up-to-date with businesses they support.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday

“Nearly 70% of respondents wanted to hear about Black Friday promotions directly in their inbox,” – Sinch’s 2023 email engagement survey

The overall spending for Q4 2023 was expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. The National Retail Federation estimated roughly 182 million people planned to shop during the long Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend following Thanksgiving.

“Email volumes saw a 22% increase during November compared to 2022, with Black Friday volume up 34% from last year,” –Sinch email data

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans planned to do “most of their shopping” on Black Friday, according to a survey by PwC, an accounting and consulting firm, NPR reported.

According to the survey PwC Holiday Outlook 2023, the bulk of people planned to do their holiday shopping:

• Early November: 27%
• Before the holiday season: 16%
• Black Friday: 19%
• weekend after Thanksgiving: 9%
• Thanksgiving: 6%
• Cyber Monday: 5%
• Between Cyber Monday and Christmas: 16%

Email clients with the largest market share

As of November 2023, the following 8 email clients were the most popular according to Litmus’ Email Client Market Share:

1. Apple: 66.83%
2. Gmail: 22.82%
3. Outlook: 3.04%
4. Yahoo Mail: 2.70%
5. Google Android: 1.35%
6. Outlook.com: 0.57%
7. Thunderbird: 0.20%
8. Samsung Mail: 0.11%

Year-End Review: Omnichannel Marketing in 2023

“Consumers are 90% more likely to purchase from a retailer with omnichannel marketing,” – CapitalOne

Marketing has changed significantly in the past couple of years. As a result, Omnichannel customer service has become critical and, therefore, so has having an Omnichannel marketing strategy.

Omnichannel marketing solutions drive engagement, conversion rates, purchases, trust, brand loyalty, and retention.

Omnichannel driving purchases, even from bed or the bathroom

“90 percent of consumers move between devices when making a purchase,” – Google.

Although the majority of shoppers still prefer to purchase in-store as opposed to online, 37% of shoppers are researching online and then purchasing in-store, according to CapitalOne.

“Omnichannel strategies drive an 80% higher rate of incremental store visits,” – Google

Of those who are purchasing online, 43% of those make purchases from the comfort of their bed, while 20% shop from their bathroom or car.

Omnichannel marketing and revenue growth

“The global omnichannel retail commerce market was projected to grow to $11.01 billion in 2023,” –Market Research Future

Companies that maintain strong omnichannel customer engagement will see a 9.5% increase in annual revenue, according to Customer Think. According to Google, consumers who shop across multiple channels have a 30% higher lifetime value.

Mo’ channels, Mo’ money

“Using three channels instead of one for a marketing campaign results in a 287% higher purchase rate.” – Omnisend

On average, consumers use six touchpoints, with 50 percent of them regularly using more than four, according to hubtype.

Another study on omnichannel marketing by the Wharton School of Business, at the University of Pennsylvania, found that when companies expand their marketing by using three or more channels, they can boost their order rate by a whopping 494%!

Omnichannel marketing also drove customer purchase frequency by 250% compared to a single channel, while the size of the average order increased by 13%, according to Omnisend.

Curbside pickup higher than peak pandemic

Omnichannel marketing was a large factor in retail sales during the peak of the pandemic when customers could order online and pick up curbside. For example, during Cyber Week 2020, the curbside pickup drove a 31% higher website conversion rate. Curbside pickup was offered by 43.7% of the Top 500 retailers.

According to Google, at the end of November 2023, the use of curbside pickup by holiday shoppers in the US was higher than in both years of the peak pandemic (2020 and 2021). Further, the use of buy-online and pick-up in-store was even higher than in 2022.

Omnichannel marketing crucial factor in customer retention

“Companies with Omnichannel customer engagement strategies had an 89% customer retention rate,” – DigiZuite

Due to the overwhelming demand of consumers for a personalized experience across screens, offering such experiences is having a profound effect on customer retention rates. In comparison to the above statistic, companies that had a weak or no omnichannel customer engagement strategy had only a 33% retention rate.

According to Forbes, the companies that have developed the best omnichannel customer engagement strategies are turning 89% of their buyers into loyal customers.

Looking for an omnichannel marketing solutions provider?

Interest Media offers a complete omnichannel solution. Deliver your marketing messages across email, display, push, SMS, and more.

With specialized tools that are built for performance, Interest Media delivers thousands of exclusive offers, derived from the internet’s most valuable consumer verticals, to publishers seeking increased earnings.

Interest Media offers a consumer-centric advertising solution that utilizes first-party data combined with real-time optimization that maintains a positive user experience while driving higher earnings.

Simply fill out the form below and one of our black belt, fuel-injected, business development superheroes will soon assist you in taking your digital marketing strategies to the next level and beyond.

Intent-Based Marketing in 2023

In 2023, personalization is key. An intent-based marketing strategy begins with a consumer-centric focus and then aims for specific intentions or purposes behind a user’s search or online behavior.

By the use of first-party data, Interest Media can directly target users who are already actively attempting to engage with a particular good or service. This data is collected from a variety of online behaviors. For example, those who are highly interested in a particular offering or have shown their intent to make a purchase.

Marketing efforts are focused on behavioral targeting, retargeting, and remarketing. Within this, marketing efforts use data and insights to deliver personalized experiences aimed at the individual’s intent.

The advantage of laser-focused targeting is that it can make more efficient use of advertising budgets. This is because those leads targeted tend to be of superior quality and result in higher conversions.

Intent-based marketing is part of Interest Media’s omnichannel solutions.

Interested in learning more?

Check out our Free White Paper on The Unbeatable Nature of Intent-Based Advertising.

Year-End Review: Push Notification Marketing in 2023

The push notification market was expected to grow to $4.4 billion in 2023, according to TruePush. This figure represents a CAGR of 21.16% from 2018 to 2023. However, in a November 2023 report, LinkedIn estimated the market size at $16.13 billion in 2022 and expects to see the push market grow to $66.43 billion by 2028. Another figure by Credence Research put the number at $95.46 billion in 2022. Clearly, these varying estimates don’t align by a long shot.

So, while the value of the push notification market is somewhat cloudy, that’s not stopping marketers from continuing to pursue this channel.

Research from Customer.io’s “State of Messaging Report,” found a 49% year-over-year increase in brands using push notifications to reach customers in 2023.

Push notification opens and opt-in rates

While push notifications don’t have the astounding open rates of text messages, nonetheless, they have a 50% higher open rate than email.

Opt-in rates vary by device, and US smartphone user receives an average of 46 app push notifications daily.

The overall opt-in rate for push notifications is 60%. Android devices have an opt-in rate of 81%, while iOS devices have a rate of 51%, according to the Business of Apps.

CTR and reaction rates

Android saw a reaction rate of 4.6%, with a rate of 3.4% for iOS. Emojis were found to improve reaction rates by 20%. Rich formats improved reactions by 25%. Personalization improved reaction rates by a whopping 400%! Advanced targeting improved reaction rates by 300%.

Click-through rates (CTR) on Android were 4.6%, while iOS was 3.4%. Emojis improved CTR by around 5%. Basic personalization improved open rates by 9%.

In-app notifications vs. push notifications

“In-app notifications have a three times higher open rate than push notifications,” – Reckless Agency

Users who are already engaged with using an app are more tolerant of internal app notifications than when receiving them elsewhere. These messages have a very strong 75% open rate.

However, push notifications, which show up on the lock screen of a device, in the notification tray, or through the web browser, aren’t as welcomed by users, and only have a 25% open rate.

Web push

Chrome dominated as the platform for reaching web push subscribers, accounting for 90 percent of all subscribers. Opera had 3%, Yandex followed with 2%, while Firefox and Safari had 1% each. (Psst…you can subscribe to our push notifications to be the first to read our industry news!)

Push notification by industry

Push notifications were still being leveraged by marketers in 2023. According to the Business of Apps, these are the industries sending the bulk of push notifications.

• E-commerce: 22.03%
• Media/Publishing/Blogging: 18.79%
• Banking/Financial Services/Insurance: 8.35%
• Software and SAAS: 7.62%
• Digital Marketing Agencies: 7.52%
• Art/Sports/Entertainment: 6.89%
• Education/E-learning: 6.37%
• Healthcare/Wellness: 5.01%
• Other: 4.91%
• Gaming: 4.8%
• Career/Training: 2.71%
• Travel/Hospitality: 2.61%
• Online Directories/Aggregators: 2.4%

Majority of users find push notifications annoying

“53% of users find push notifications annoying, while 49% find them distracting,” – Business of Apps via Truelist

Reaching people through push notifications remains a challenge. Successful push notification messaging still relies on reaching the right balance between just enough and not too much.

Year-End Review: Social Media Marketing in 2023

“In 2023, an estimated 4.89 billion people used social media worldwide,” – Statista.

The current number of social media users comes as a result of a 3% year-over-year growth from January 2022 to January 2023, or roughly 137 million new users.

In 2023 and beyond, brands seeking to find consumers on social media need to have a presence on several platforms. The latest report shows that the average person spends time on at least seven different social networks monthly. The amount of time people are spending on social media is higher than ever – a record 151 minutes per day! Consider that a lot of adults can’t find the 150 minutes per week to engage in physical activity as the CDC recommends.

Although TikTok has been capturing the lion’s share of hype among marketers, (and for good reason due to the value of its demographic), it currently sits at #6 in popularity. However, TikTok will almost certainly rise in rank as 80% of TikTok users are either Gen Z or millennials, according to the Global Web Index. TikTok is also getting a boost from adult users in the US. The platform grew by 5.5 times in only 18 months. Users jumped from 2.6 million to 14.3 million as the platform widened its appeal.

Most popular social media platforms as of December 2023

According to Google’s AI, the most popular platforms as of December 2023 include:

1. Facebook: 3.05 billion monthly active users. Used by 37% of the world’s population.

2. WhatsApp: 2.78 billion monthly active users.

3. Instagram: 2 billion monthly active users.

4. YouTube: An advertising reach of 2.491 billion. Monthly organic traffic is 112.9 billion users.

5. WeChat: Statistics as of November 2023 showed 1.37 billion monthly active users.

6. TikTok: 62% of Generation Z uses the platform. Statistics as of November 2023 showed 1.21 billion monthly active users.

Don’t rule out LinkedIn

While TikTok is where all the action is for younger generations, LinkedIn still ranks 5th in usage by social media marketers overall. It remains an important channel among professionals and businesses. LinkedIn has over 930 million members in over 200 countries, with over 224 million in the US. More than 63 million companies are listed on LinkedIn. (Have you subscribed to our newsletter?)

ROI on social media in 2023

Around 22% of B2B marketers considered Facebook as the social media platform with the highest return on investment (ROI) in 2023. This was followed by a three-way tie between Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, each receiving a 16% vote.

Trending: Short-form video

According to Hub Spot, the hottest social media trends for 2023 were short-form video and live streaming. In terms of marketing, short-form video was the top format used and had the highest ROI.

Trending: Social media and product discovery

“44% of internet users aged 16 to 64 use social media as a primary source of information when they’re researching brand,” –Search Engine Journal report

The use of social media for product discovery continues to increase. Nearly 27% of users aged 16 to 64 discover brands, products, and services via ads on social media.

“80% of weekly users say they’ve discovered a new brand or product on Pinterest,” –Search Engine Journal report

Pinterest is also rapidly becoming a new platform for brand and product discovery.

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