• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, May 10, 2023

Studies abound showing that SMS is the media channel of the future. But here is one that says something different. 

An imposing 72% of consumers say SMS is their least trusted channel for communicating with businesses, according to a survey by Arion Research, sponsored by Sendbird.  

The most trusted platforms are email (82%) and phone (77%), followed by live chat via website (58%) and live chat via mobile app (46%). 

Of course, email also comes in for some disapproval: 24% have switched brands because the business send too many emails or texts.

In addition, 56% say they get too many push notifications to the point where they cannot find useful information. And 43% have used “do not disturb” to silence notifications.

In the past 12 months, consumers ignored or missed communications in these channels:

• Phone — 51% 
• Email — 49% 
• Text or SMS — 49% 
• Social media — 49% 
• Public messaging app — 43%
• Push notification from business mobile app — 42%

At 32% millennials are most likely to feel they are getting too many texts or emails, followed by 27% of Gen Z. 

The least trusted channels by generation are:

• Gen Z — Text/SMS
• Millennials — Tie: Text/SMS, Social Media
• Gen X — Social Media
• Baby Boomers — Social media

Of consumers in the 31-40 age range, 24% have blocked more business texts/SMS, as have 20% in the 41-50 cohort. 

In the United States, email is the most trusted channel social media the least trusted. UK consumers rank phone as the most trusted channel  and social media as the least 

Overall, 34% of consumers say they have gotten more unwanted spam messages over the past 12 months, and 26% say they are more frequently ignoring messages.  

Arion surveyed 1,200 consumers in 14 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions from January-February 2023.