Everyone’s been in this situation: You’re standing in a line or sitting on a bus and the person next to you is not even aware that you’re there because they are so engulfed in writing a text. Or you’re having a conversation with someone, and they stop in the middle of it to answer a text. Needless to say, we are addicted to SMS.
An article we came across backs up this argument and discusses how Smartphone users are still texting as much as they used to (if not more), but are purchasing bundle packages where an unlimited amount of text messages can be sent per month at a nominal cost. This is not cost effective for carriers and a few are beginning to faze out their unlimited plans and opting for per message billing instead.
Additionally, the rise of Smartphones has enabled users to utilize social media apps (Facebook, Twitter, BBM, etc.) and therefore; they are not relying solely on their text messaging plans to communicate.
What does this mean? Well, Smartphone users will either need to buy larger data plans to accommodate the time they will be spending on these apps or keep an eye on their plans more carefully.
This will especially be the case if SMS becomes the next spam like it’s projected to. This could mean that carriers will only provide unlimited texting plans if they have the ability to spam text you whenever they want.
I doubt most would text as much as they currently do if they were charged per message. Even now, Canadians who don’t have an international texting plan seriously contemplate when sending a text when they’re out of the country. Personally, when I’m out of the country, unless someone is injured or thrown in jail, I don’t bother texting because of the high per message rates that come along with it.
So maybe I would sell my identity to have access to unlimited messaging plans if it was cheaper then purchasing a larger data plan. And I’m sure I’m not the only one, and businesses are aware of this and are jumping at the chance to take advantage of our addiction to texting.
What does this mean to our market places? Would/are you considering mobile ad’s in the next year’s e-business plan due to this trend?
Suggested reads:
Despite rumors, SMS is not dead
Skip to sharing