Which industries can benefit most from mobile messaging technology in a post-covid world?
Which industries can benefit most from mobile messaging technology in a post-covid world?
There’s no doubt that the past twelve months have been challenging for businesses worldwide. With huge restrictions on the movement and freedoms we once took for granted, some businesses were forced into temporary, and in unfortunate cases permanent, closure. However, it’s not all been bad news. Some industries have thrived in the recent lockdowns, making the most in changes in people’s behaviour and moving towards the digital experience perhaps earlier than anticipated.
Gaming
The gaming and eSports industry has been steadily growing for years, but 2020 saw a boom no one was expecting. Sudden business closures and the government’s furlough scheme here in the UK meant people suddenly found themselves with free time on their hands and not many options when it came to filling it thanks to restrictions on hospitality and socialising. As a result, the number of viewed hours, gaming spend and time online rocketed.
Its growth that was always anticipated, with business news site Business Insider projecting eSports revenue to top $1.5 billion in 2023 and mobile gaming on the whole exceeding $100 billion in the same year according to Statista. The industry growth has been phenomenal, thanks in part to the ease and simplicity with which customers can play and pay. The gaming industry has long had a focus on mobile and so was in a good place to capitalise on people’s free time and, with in-app purchases counting for 95% of all user spend on gaming apps, integration with mobile payments like direct carrier billing offers a seamless solution.
From ongoing subscriptions to gaming credits and in-app purchases, allowing customers to buy at the touch of a button and charging them through their mobile phone bill makes perfect sense and has allowed businesses to capitalise on recent trends and offer a hassle-free purchase path.
Hospitality
Of all the industries to suffer in the wake of covid-19, it’s fair to say the hospitality industry took one of the biggest batterings! With hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities forced to close, there was a huge impact. However, some restaurants were able to capitalise on the sudden surge in takeaway orders by offering click and collect or home deliveries. Delivery giant Just Eat posted a 44% increase in the first half of 2020, processing 77 million orders in the UK alone.
With light at the end of the tunnel for the hospitality industry, there is a real sense of excitement for people who’ve missed the change to socialise over dinner and drinks or unwind with a weekend away. And after over a year of online orders, mobile notifications and discount offers by text message, the opportunity to maximise sales and foster customer relationships with mobile technology will be there.
A recent study from LoungeUp found that 91% of hotel executives thought mobile messaging technology was crucial to improving guest experience and fostering loyalty. It also found that 79% of consumers were more loyal to brands with higher levels of personalisation.
Meanwhile, in the restaurant industry, people have begun to expect perks along the lines of discount codes, specials and offers. 71% of people claim to be likely to sign up to texts from a restaurant and more than half currently receive promotional text messages from restaurants.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry has been utilising virtual communication since the start of the pandemic and it certainly seems like an element of this will continue in the future.
While a return to more fact-to-face appointments will be a relief to many, some people wanting only advice or with non-urgent enquiries will welcome the quick and easy contact. According to data analytics company FICO, 80% of people would like the options to use their smartphones to interact with healthcare providers and 76% of people are keen to be reminded of appointments.
While apps like LIVI offer virtual appointments, the process of sending appointments reminders and notifications through a secure, messaging system can be incredibly straightforward.
About MessageCloud
MessageCloud is a multi-award winning mobile messaging technology provider. Its cloud-based SMS and messaging products enable companies to set up and manage one-way and two-way communications effortlessly. Plus, it offers products to analyse phone numbers, verify users and accept payments by mobile.
With its range of products, ‘Send’, ‘Numbers’, ‘Verify’, ‘Analyse’ and ‘Pay’, MessageCloud delivers tools that maximise mobile marketing; from virtual numbers to payment systems for carrier billing. And with more than a decade of delivering messages for diverse markets around the globe, it is a service on which you can rely.