NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new SlickText study analyzing more than 400 million text messages found that the median SMS marketing campaign achieved a click rate of just 5.5%, contrasting sharply with widely cited industry figures suggesting click rates of 20% or higher are common. While some of those benchmarks come from businesses reporting their own performance, SlickText's findings are based on measured campaign data. Only about one in eight campaigns surpassed a 20% click rate, while the top 10% achieved rates of 23.9% or higher. The research also reveals which marketing practices are associated with stronger engagement.
The findings are part of The State of SMS Marketing Engagement – 2026 Edition, a new study from SlickText based on actual campaign performance rather than surveys or self-reported results. The research examines how engagement varies by industry, message length, link placement, personalization, campaign timing, audience size, and other factors, offering marketers evidence-based insights to evaluate and improve their SMS campaigns.
Among the study's key findings:
- Shorter messages generally earned higher click rates. Messages of 100 characters or fewer achieved approximately 50% higher click rates than messages containing 141–160 characters, although exceeding 160 characters showed no consistent penalty.
- Link placement mattered. Links placed in the first half of a message achieved approximately 45% higher click rates than links positioned near the end.
- Popular tactics showed limited benefits. Emojis had no statistically significant impact on clicks and first-name personalization showed a modest, statistically insignificant lift in click rate and was associated with a statistically significant 26% increase in opt-out rates.
- Larger audiences were associated with lower engagement. Each doubling of campaign audience size was associated with approximately 13% lower click rates.
- MMS campaigns had lower click rates than SMS. Multimedia messages had approximately 17% lower click rates, although they may drive conversions without requiring recipients to click a link.
“SMS marketing has no shortage of advice about what works, but much of it hasn't been tested against real-world performance data,” said Matt Baglia, Founder and CEO of SlickText. “We found that some seemingly small decisions are associated with meaningful differences in click rates, while other tactics that get a lot of attention show little measurable benefit. Our goal was to give marketers credible benchmarks, a clearer understanding of what actually moves the needle, and practical recommendations they can use to improve their results.”
The study analyzed more than 400 million messages across a sample of nearly 75,000 campaigns sent through SlickText between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026. Click rates were calculated using delivered messages from campaigns with usable tracked links, excluding automated clicks from link previews and security scanners. Where appropriate, researchers compared campaigns from the same sender to better isolate performance differences. As an observational study, the findings identify associations rather than prove causation.
The complete report, The State of SMS Marketing Engagement – 2026 Edition, including detailed findings, industry benchmarks, methodology, and recommendations for marketers, is available at:
https://www.slicktext.com/research/sms-marketing-benchmarks
About SlickText
SlickText has powered over 124,000 text message programs since 2011. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, SlickText helps businesses build valuable customer relationships through personalized mass texting, automated workflows, and two-way messaging. Every account includes list growth tools, workflow automation, a shared inbox, and in-depth analytics — backed by U.S.-based support.
Media Contact
Dylan Ward
marketing@slicktext.com
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