Although it has seemingly crept up on us, the “phone” has become a portable “Instant Messenger” device for a large number of users. According to a recent Nielsen survey reported in FierceWireless:
As of Q2 2008, a typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends or receives 357 text messages per month, compared to placing or receiving 204 phone calls. Though the number of calls has remained relatively steady, the number of text messages is up 450% from just two years prior.
That trend is even more pronounced among teenagers, who send/receive an average of 1,742 text messages a month.
What does this mean to us? It has significant implications for anyone related to this industry, such as:
I agree we need to pay attention to opportunities that surround the growth of texting as a communication channel, but the urgency is far more for those of us targeting younger generations. Why? Dive into the data a bit more. With teenagers running almost 1800 texts monthly, and the overall average 350, that means those above a certain age are probably still texting less (perhaps far less) than they phone. If your target is Baby Boomers or older, testing of the channel may prove that money is still better spent elsewhere.