Conversational customer experiences and generative AI developments have created a long-lasting impact on how people and brands interact, revealed a report by global cloud communications platform, Infobip.
The report observed that a 29 per cent increase has been seen in mobile app messaging for marketing in 2023 compared to 2022. WhatsApp remains the top digital channel for conversational marketing in absolute numbers, driven by new features that enable customers to start and complete a purchase in a single WhatsApp chat window.
The company has witnessed a significant increases in other messaging apps such as Telegram, Line, Viber, and Messenger. More specifically, WhatsApp messages increased by 421 per cent in Asia Pacific in 2023, while mobile app messaging increased by 146 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa and by 18 times in North America. Meanwhile, RCS Business Messaging is an emerging channel for conversational marketing.
The two-way exchange of information is the basis for conversational marketing, and brands are ramping up their efforts to meet customers on the channels they use with their family and friends, the report added.
Ivan Ostojić, chief business officer at Infobip, said: “Our data shows how conversational experiences are rapidly spreading across the globe as businesses roll out marketing, sales, and support use cases. Where 2022 revealed a spike in omnichannel adoption when brands recognised the importance of connecting with their customers on their preferred channel, 2023 shows how brands are perfecting the end-to-end customer journey.”
Infobip’s data from 2023 shows that SMS remains an important channel for business communication, but usage is changing where SMS is now being used alongside chat apps. Across all industries, brands most commonly use SMS with WhatsApp, with 25 per cent of businesses choosing this combination. Moreover, where businesses and brands use two channels, SMS is one of the two options in 63 per cent of cases.
The report is based on more than 473 billion digital communications interactions on its platform in 2023 between businesses and consumers to identify the latest global business messaging trends.
