Darren Bastin, Sales Director at RetailSystem, talks about the power of text marketing.
For decades, furniture, bed and flooring retailers have accepted one simple fact – when the weather turns glorious, showroom footfall often heads in the opposite direction.
The sun comes out, the garden furniture flies out of the door, but customers postpone buying that new sofa, mattress or flooring while they head to the beach, the garden centre or enjoy a family day out. Or at least, that’s how it used to be.
Across the RetailSystem community, we’re witnessing a significant shift. Retailers are proving that summer no longer has to mean slower trading. In fact, some of our clients are generating sales figures during the hottest weeks of the year that rival – and occasionally outperform – some of the industry’s traditional peak trading periods.
The difference isn’t bigger discounts or larger advertising budgets. It’s smarter communication. At RetailSystem, we call it FurnitureTexts.
The statistics behind SMS marketing are extraordinary. Industry data consistently shows that text messages achieve around a 98% open rate, with over 90% being read within the first three minutes of arriving on a customer’s phone. No other mainstream marketing channel comes close.
Think about your own habits. How many marketing emails sit unopened in your inbox? How many social media adverts do you scroll past without even noticing?
Now compare that with a text message. It appears directly on your phone’s home screen, demands your attention and is usually read within moments. That’s why SMS has become one of the most effective marketing tools available to modern retailers.
But the real magic isn’t simply sending a text message. It’s sending the right message to the right customer at exactly the right time. That’s where RetailSystem changes everything.
Using your fully GDPR-compliant RetailSystem CRM database, you can build highly targeted campaigns based on real customer data. Previous purchases, postcode areas, preferred brands, product categories, buying history, delivery dates and much more can all be used to create laser-focused campaigns that genuinely resonate with your customers.
Perhaps you want to contact customers who purchased a mattress eight years ago. Maybe you’d like to invite everyone who bought a dining table to an exclusive chair event. Or perhaps you simply want to reach every customer within twenty miles of your showroom for a weekend clearance promotion.
Instead of broadcasting a message to everyone, you’re speaking directly to customers who are most likely to respond. That precision delivers results.
The beauty of FurnitureTexts is its simplicity. There are no expensive print runs, no lengthy artwork approvals and no waiting for campaigns to land on doormats. A professionally written text, a compelling offer and a link directly to your website or showroom can be live in minutes.
Many RetailSystem retailers are now using FurnitureTexts to promote flash sales, VIP events, clearance weekends, supplier promotions, finance offers and new product launches—all generating immediate enquiries and increased showroom traffic.
In today’s competitive retail environment, speed matters. The businesses that communicate first are often the businesses that sell first. And if you’re not currently a RetailSystem customer, don’t worry.
Our team can have your customer database imported, configured and ready to send fully compliant SMS campaigns in as little as 24 hours. You don’t have to wait months to start benefiting from targeted text marketing.
This summer, don’t simply hope customers will walk through your doors. Invite them. Because while others are waiting for footfall to improve, the most successful retailers are creating their own. Sometimes the smallest message can have the biggest impact.
www.retailsystem.com/uk/features/text-marketing/
FurnitureTexts at a Glance
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