With record numbers of shop closures this year, a large number of retailers are stepping up their communication efforts to customers to help stay afloat, according to research.

Communications provider Esendex questioned 660 international businesses about how the pandemic had influenced their messaging, and found that a quarter of the retailers questioned had increased their customer communication efforts compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Esendex said over a quarter (28 per cent) of retailers are sending more messages to potential and existing customers, while almost half are sending the same amount (48.5 per cent).

One-in-ten businesses said they’re sending fewer messages right now (13 per cent).

Of these messages, 30 per cent involved marketing/promotional activity and 23 per cent were around appointment management.

Another 23 per cent covered delivery information and 16 per cent were in connection with customer service/process updates. Customer satisfaction surveys took up 7 per cent.

Amy Robinson, senior brand development manager at Esendex, said: “Maintaining a great level of customer communication has never been so pressing, as companies have had to adapt to how and what they message to customers.

“A rise in SMS messaging, in particular, may be in part due to businesses trying to ‘cut through the noise’ and content saturation, preferring a method that has a 95 per cent open rate.”

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