The Americas have emerged as global leaders in SMS adoption among marketers, according to new research by Dotdigital, a global provider of marketing automation technology. The 2025 Global Benchmark Report offers unparalleled insights into the metrics that matter most to marketers worldwide. It found that SMS grew by a staggering 42% in the Americas, while the global average saw a 19% decline.
SMS campaigns in the Americas also delivered remarkable click-through-rates (CTR of 12%), over five times that of email at 2.3%. This reflects the region's reputation for championing a mobile-first approach to marketing, where SMS is viewed as an essential tool for reaching audiences directly and driving engagement as a result.
Other key insights for the Americas included:
- Abandoned carts reclaimed: Automation tools played a pivotal role in digitally recovering revenue, with click-to-open-rates (CTOR) for abandoned cart reclaim messages double that of regular campaigns
- Email remains a trusted resource: Despite the SMS boom, email continues to hold its ground as a trusted marketing channel, achieving a 46% open rate and an average 2.3% click-through rate in the region
Dotdigital's Chief Marketing Officer, Juliette Aiken, commented: "With SMS growing significantly and returning a click-through rate six times higher than email, marketers in the Americas have a unique opportunity to use SMS as a direct, highly impactful channel for time-sensitive campaigns. By integrating SMS into their broader marketing mix, professionals can create cross-channel workflows that drive faster conversions, improve customer loyalty, and ultimately increase revenue.
"The report also shows how automation tools allow marketers to work smarter, not harder, by handling repetitive yet critical tasks such as abandoned cart recovery or audience segmentation. Automation can free up marketers to focus on innovation while still delivering standout results that validate investment in the team and its tools."
Mobile marketing strategies are no longer experimental in the Americas-the report demonstrates they are mature revenue drivers. As businesses continue to blend email and SMS touchpoints, marketers can boost return on investment by introducing multi-channel automation programs. The Americas has already proven its effectiveness, with abandoned cart campaigns achieving a click-to-open rate (CTOR) of 13%. Leveraging SMS alongside email can further enhance these efforts, as SMS campaigns boast a CTR of 19% globally-over six times higher than the 3% CTR for email.
This latest report draws from tens of billions of emails, hundreds of millions of SMS campaigns, and automation workflows sent across 40+ industries. It covers multiple global regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Asia-Pacific (APAC).
The findings highlight how privacy-first consumer trends, the rise of automation, and the ongoing push for cross-channel marketing excellence are shaping the modern marketing landscape, driving businesses to evolve their approaches to customer engagement. With regional nuances playing an increasingly vital role, the Global Benchmark Report gives brands the context and actionable strategies they need to stay competitive.
Marketers worldwide can leverage Dotdigital's customer experience and data platform tools to fine-tune their channels, adopt scalable automation, and measure the return on investment of their campaigns with confidence.
To download the full report and gain access to actionable insights for your region and industry, please visit: https://dotdigital.com/global-benchmark-report/cta-form
Notes to editors
For the 2025 Global Benchmark Report, Dotdigital analyzed data from customer accounts for twelve months, from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024. All comparisons made are against data from Dotdigital's previous Global Benchmark Report, released in 2023, using data from 2021 2022. All data is aggregated and anonymized; no Dotdigital accounts are identifiable through this report.
About Dotdigital
Dotdigital is an all-in-one customer experience and data platform (CXDP) that empowers marketing teams to exceed customer expectations with highly personalized cross-channel journeys.
With Dotdigital, marketers can seamlessly unify, enrich, and segment customer data. Breaking down data silos, Dotdigital streamlines decision-making and paves the way for marketing creativity that delivers customer engagement at scale.
With powerful AI capabilities, Dotdigital makes it easy to automate deeply personalized experiences across web, email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, push, social, ads, and more.
Trusted by over 4,000 brands across ecommerce, retail, not-for-profit, education, financial services, and other sectors, Dotdigital enables marketers across the globe.
Headquartered in London and established in 1999, Dotdigital is focused on building trusted, connected, and future-proofed solutions that empower customer-obsessed businesses. Learn more at dotdigital.com
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