• Use of RCS services over Black Friday and Cyber Monday ballooned in 2024.
• Infobip revealed that RCS interactions increased 349 percent this year.
• However, email, SMS and WhatsApp still account for a large number of interactions between businesses and customers.

Businesses that aren’t incorporating Rich Communication Services (RCS) into their communication strategy are missing out, according to data from Infobip.

RCS is a universal alternative to Apple’s iMessage system in that it allows for more functionality than an old SMS or MMS. The service offers several benefits including typing indicators, file sharing, group chats, improved security and much, much more.

The solution really is Rich – as the name implies – and it’s a boon for brands looking to improve customer service and ultimately, customer retention.

Over Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024, Infobip noted that RCS interactions increased 349 percent compared to 2023. The company says that this highlights how customers gravitate toward seamless experiences where an item can be shopped and purchased without leaving the platform.

While chatbots can prove cloying at most times, it seems that their usefulness is leveraged when folks are shopping for things and need help.

“Our data confirms our predictions that RCS would become a critical channel for businesses and brands this year as they sought to deliver rich, personal and conversational experiences for their customers,” chief business officer at Infobip, Ivan Ostojić said in a statement.

Of course, while that’s impressive growth, other communication channels saw growth as well, though not as extreme as RCS. Over the weekend, SMS, email and WhatsApp interactions totalled 5.5 billion of the total 11.6 billion communication interactions.

Interestingly, Infobip noted that interactions didn’t stop on Saturday and Sunday, instead they continued showing that even once Black Friday is over, people are still shopping throughout the weekend. This should signal to brands that Black Friday weekend is a good time to appeal to cost conscious consumers.

“As our data also shows, consumers are interested in shopping during the entire week and month of November and not just on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, with a 70% increase in interactions on Saturday and Sunday this year compared to last. Moreover, our data shows that Infobip helped businesses and brands complete successful and prompt consumer journeys and commercial transactions without fail,” Ostojić adds.

If you are looking to implement RCS and indeed many other communication technologies into your marketing and communications mix, we recommend checking Infobip out. The firm’s customers include the likes of Uber, Nissan and Unicef among others.

[Image – Samuel Angor on Unsplash]