Skip to main content

Send SMS and MMS in the US and Canada 1: Introduction

Navigate the regional rules of using SMS as a business in North America.

Laura Russell avatar
Written by Laura Russell
Updated this week

Why the USA is different for SMS

Mobile numbers in the US have area codes instead of a mobile-only prefix, so it’s not possible to know by looking at a number if it’s a mobile or not. This means that, traditionally, mobile users paid to receive calls and SMS, since it wasn’t fair to burden the sender with any extra costs when they didn’t know they were contacting a mobile. For this reason, it has been more important to prove someone has opted in to SMS marketing than in the rest of the world.

Today, call and SMS bundling and the introduction of toll-free numbers have made this less of a concern, but it has left a lasting, regulatory effect on how businesses must use SMS. In the US, gathering compliant opt-ins is a crucial first step for any SMS marketing in the region.

Learn more in Opt-ins and consent.


Benefits of SMS and MMS marketing

Some useful statistics about US consumers:

  • They check their smartphones a day an average of 96 times a day.

  • 52% have purchased a product based on a marketing SMS or MMS message.

  • 48% enjoy receiving tailored discounts through mobile messaging.

  • 41% have opted to receive SMS or MMS messages specifically for shipping.

  • 33% check a text within one minute of receiving it.

  • 28% is the average click through rate of an of SMS/MMS marketing message.

  • 40% of US businesses make use of SMS or MMS marketing notifications.

  • 0.8% is the average opt of rate of SMS and MMS marketing in the US.

Given these statistics, it’s clear that SMS and MMS marketing can be a great addition to your marketing strategy.

You can consider including the following campaign types in your customer journeys:

  • Abandoned cart campaigns

  • Promotional campaigns for sales and special offers

  • Individually tailored discounts

  • Welcome offers to new sign ups

  • Shipping and delivery notifications

  • Anniversary or birthday offers

Your Customer Success representative can tell you more about ways to utilise SMS and MMS marketing to help increase your ROI and maintain brand loyalty.


Sender ID options in the US and Canada

Alphanumeric sender IDs are not available in the US or Canada.

Features

Short code

10DLC

Toll-free

Delivery receipt

Confirms that a message was delivered to handset.

Confirms that a message was delivered to the carrier.

Confirms that a message was delivered to handset.

Subject to filtering

Since the traffic is pre-registered, short codes are subject to minimal filtering.

Subject to carrier filtering.*

Subject to carrier filtering.*

Marketability

Recognised by US/CAN consumers as the standard in business to consumer marketing messaging.

Your customers are likely to trust traffic coming from a short code more than from a long code option.

Best used for small-to- medium-sized businesses that are sending marketing locally. Area code specific, so you can use a number that your contacts recognise as local.

Best used for transactional messaging. US/CAN consumers often mistake toll-free numbers for spam, so your marketing messages tend to not be viewed/opened and opt- out rate is generally higher.

MMS capable

Yes

Yes

Yes

Voice enabled

No

Yes

Yes

Price

Most expensive.

Mid-range cost.

Least expensive.

Timeline

4 - 6 Weeks

1-2 Weeks

1-2 Weeks

* Increasingly, this filtering involves algorithms used by aggregators or networks to identify spam, potentially flagging campaigns as suspicious. Their exact criteria are not known but the process is increasingly AI-driven. If caught by the filter, the SMS or MMS message is marked as bounced.


See also

More articles in the Send SMS and MMS in the US and Canada series:

Did this answer your question?