In reply to Joie Chan’s blogpost regarding SMS and MMS as a form of marketing, I believe that text message marketing isn’t a waste of time, but actually a more effective way to reach consumers.

Speaking for the majority of the student population, it is safe to say that we have reached the period of technological prosperity where we rely more on our phones because it is more convenient than a computer, while capable of doing most of the things a computer can do. We are always on our phones playing games or using different applications. The whole world of technology has gone mobile, so why not the world of retail as well?

As a shopoholic, I find it extremely convenient to be notified through SMS regarding in-store promotions. Marketing through SMS is more convenient than emails because many tend to ignore emails or not happen to have 3G.

Different stores have different methods of attaining customer phone numbers. I find it effective when there is an incentive to give your number such as texting to receive discount codes and free items. Abercrombie and Hollister use this tactic very well in targeting their young customer segment.