Consumer Behavior

Consumer text-based purchases on the rise

Photo: Adobe Stock

January 21, 2026

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More than half, 65%, of consumers made a purchase from a brand's text message in 2025 and consumers now prefer redeeming offers via text more than email and apps.

Those are findings from Vibes' annual "Mobile Consumer Insights" report that also revealed 81% of consumer think RCS messaging is better than SMS.

The trends indicate that mobile commerce is braced for a boom, according to a press release on the findings.
here.

The survey polls over 1,100 mobile-centric consumers with the intention of understanding what their relationship with their smartphones looks like today; how this has changed over multiple years; how they prefer to interact with brands on their phones, and how these interactions impact their path to purchase.

The data reveals text messaging has surpassed email for the first time in the survey's nine-year history.

The report also revealed 76% of consumers are "much more likely" to engage with brands that provide a mobile wallet option for offers and coupons, which is up from 60% in 2025.

"These results tell us that the shift away from mobile apps for transactions is accelerating," Alex Campbell, Vibes' co-founder and CIO, said the release. "RCS will only accelerate this faster. Any brand that uses messaging will be well-positioned to shift their focus away from their app, and into the surging RCS messaging and mobile wallet channels."