A simple, straightforward, and still underexplored resource in Brazil has shown significant results for e-commerce:the SMSAlthough often associated with messages from operators and banking system authentications, the channel is gaining ground asmarketing tooland relationships — and the numbers help explain why.
According to a report by Infobip, based on data from Validity,90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes of sendingIn comparison, the email has open rates of around 20 to 25%, often hours after it is sent.
Besides effectiveness, SMS carries another strategic advantage:It is cheaper than WhatsApp for mass campaigns.While the cost per message on the WhatsApp Business API varies according to volume and communication category, SMS maintains more affordable and stable rates, which is reflected inHighest ROI in quick and direct stocks.
Data collected by theedroneBetween April and July 2025, campaigns across more than 100 Brazilian online stores show that SMS is already delivering tangible results:
- Recovery of abandoned cartsvia SMS achieved a conversion rate of 2.32% and generated more thanR$ 100,000 in revenue, from just over 6,000 messages sent.
- THEaverage ticket of recovered ordersexceeded R$ 696.04, an amount above the average in other digital campaigns.
- In post-sale strategies, the channel was even more effective:average ticket of R$ 1,071.83 per order.
Cases like that of theAunt Sônia, which recovered abandoned carts with an ROI of nearly 4,000%, and fromRamon's Bank, which recorded a 31.43% click-through rate in SMS Newsletter campaigns, reinforce that the channel can be decisive in the consumer's purchase journey.
A Plantei Garden Center, an online store specializing in plants, invested in automations sent immediately after viewing products and achieved more thanR$ 4,600 in revenue with 38 orders via SMS in just 30 days, achieving an ROI of over 1,000%. Already theKaster Stores, from the construction materials sector, managed to recoverR$ 5,000 just in abandoned carts via SMS, a total of more than R$ 11,000 recovered during the period.
For Evelyn Tavares, marketing assistant at Lojas Kaster, the differentiator was agility. The SMS generated clear changes in the results: increased sales, more customers participating in promotions, and almost immediate return on actions. It is a simple tool, but with a great impact on campaign performance.
Specialists point out that the success of SMS in e-commerce is directly related to the behavior of contemporary consumers: connected, multitasking, and impatient. In this scenario, the factortimemakes a difference. "A direct notification in the customer's pocket is harder to ignore than an email that can be forgotten in the inbox," explains Marisa Walsick, CRM analyst.Sanders Agencyand responsible for the communication strategies of Banca do Ramon.
Furthermore, McKinsey research indicates thatMultichannel strategies can increase sales conversion rates by up to 287%., precisely because they combine different touchpoints, reaching the consumer at the right time and on the right device.
Expanding trend
If in Europe SMS is already a consolidated part of the communication mix, in Brazil it is still in its infancy, but it promises to become a protagonist in digital campaigns. The participation of large and small e-commerce in recent months shows that the channel has ceased to be a secondary resource and is beginning to occupy a strategic position in marketing agendas.In the end, SMS works because it translates the logic of modern consumption:short, direct, personalized messages received in real timeCheaper than WhatsApp, more immediate than email, the channel is consolidating as a key piece in the Brazilian e-commerce arsenal.
