Mobile Statistics
The statistics behind this industry are growing at astronomical rates. The facts we have supplied from our marketplace below may assist you in your planning. If you are seeking something specific, please do not hesitate to contact us. We continually keep abreast of market trends in order to help our clients.
The adoption of text message marketing in the U.S. is one of the many key stats that is growing substantially. It is the first time in history where an industry is required to catch up to the marketplace. For example, the adoption of the Internet in the 90s developed in parallel with the use of home computers, which in turn grew the online industry. However, 27% of US companies have deployed text message marketing - and there are over 290 million mobile users.
Topic |
Jun-00 |
Jun-05 |
Jun-08 |
Jun-09 |
Wireless Subscribers |
97M |
194.4M |
262.7M |
275M |
Wireless Penetration |
34% |
66% |
84% |
89% |
Wireless-Only Households *1 |
N/A |
7.7% |
15.8% |
18.8% |
Monthly SMS Messages |
12.2M |
7.2B |
75B |
1Trillion |
Source: CTIA Wireless
Top seven U.S. carriers account of 96% of the market. This is how the market is divided.
U.S. Carrier |
Market Share |
Verizon Wireless |
31.8% |
AT&T Mobility |
29.1% |
Sprint |
16.9% |
T-mobile |
11.9% |
Metro PCS |
2.3% |
U.S. Cellular |
2.2% |
Leap Wireless/Cricket |
1.7% |
Others |
4.1% |
This next graph highlights the importance of integrating mobile into your marketing communication if your target market is between the age of 14-30.
SMS, Multimedia Messaging (MMS) and Premium SMS continues to grow as end-users become more comfortable, and as the mobile device’s usability becomes better. Currently 27% of the U.S. population has MMS capabilities.
Source: Nielsen Q4
Most brands need significant assistance in understanding their starting point with mobile. This is only further complicated when considering how to interact with mobile web. In the following graph active use is defined at mobile web access once every three days. Current research show active user base approaching 76 million which represents 26% of the total number of mobile phone users.
Source: Nielsen Q4 Statistics
In summary, work closely with your solutions provider when planning your text message marketing initiatives, because there are vast differences between carriers, the services they provide, their customers, payout and refund policies if PSMS.
We recommend referring to the following two industry bodies for additional statistics: