SMS ROI Calculator

SMS works differently from email. Click-through rates are usually 4 to 10 times higher because the message lives on the lock screen, but every message costs money to send (2 to 4 cents in the US depending on volume and provider). That means SMS math penalizes spray-and-pray sends and rewards tight segmentation. A 10 percent click rate on a 2,000-person VIP segment earns more per dollar than a 4 percent click rate on a 20,000-person blast.

The two numbers that move SMS ROI the most are click rate and AOV. Click rate is a creative and segmentation problem. Hook, offer specificity, and landing page match matter. AOV is a merchandising problem. Promote bundles and high-AOV products via SMS, not $15 one-off items. A 6 percent click rate on a $90 AOV bundle outperforms a 10 percent click rate on a $20 tee almost every time.

Run this monthly. Compare to your email revenue per send and email revenue per dollar. Most DTC programs find that SMS generates 15 to 25 percent of the revenue that email does on 10 to 20 percent of the sends. Set cadence targets accordingly.