Chinese Are World's Most Active Texters
70% Prefer SMS to Email
Move over Philippines, here comes China. The Philippines, long known for being the country where texting is king, is being usurped by China. Of China's wired citizens, nearly 70 percent are regularly using text messaging compared to just 56 percent using e-mail. Compare that to the US where 91 percent are using e-mail and just 39 percent are actively texting. 33 billion texts a month are being sent by China's 455 million cell phone users. That's about 6 messages sent for every person on the planet.
Trend Themes
1. Rapid Growth in SMS Usage - The increasing use of SMS in China presents opportunities for businesses to tap into this trend and use SMS as a marketing or communication tool.
2. Shift From Email to SMS - As more Chinese citizens prefer SMS over email, businesses in China can adapt their communication methods to better appeal to customers through text messaging.
3. Dominance of Text Messaging - As China becomes the world's top texting country, there is potential for innovation in the development of new SMS features and technologies that cater to this user base.
Industry Implications
1. Telecommunications - Telecom companies in China can capitalize on the growing SMS trend by offering competitive SMS plans and bundling other services along with text messaging.
2. Marketing - The increasing popularity of SMS in China provides a new avenue for marketing and advertising, allowing businesses to reach customers directly through their mobile devices.
3. Technology - As text messaging becomes more prevalent in China, there is an opportunity for tech companies to develop new software and apps that make texting more user-friendly and efficient.