Discount SMS Message Examples

Create a sense of urgency

Nobody likes missing out on a good deal. Creating a sense of urgency with your discount message is one surefire way to get people to click. In the example above, The Vitamin Shoppe uses all caps to tell its recipients not to panic—which of course puts them on high alert wondering what they could be panicking about.

The brand clearly communicates when the sale will end (midnight). This is important because when you use a vague phrase such as “final hours,” people may click through to your store a few hours later hoping to still benefit from the sale when it has already ended, leaving them frustrated.

Make it exclusive

People love to feel special. What better way to give them that feeling than by offering them an exclusive deal like Proof Eyewear does here? The 55 percent off wood products is an SMS-only deal.

This message also adds a sense of urgency by communicating that the sale ends at midnight and that not a lot of products are left in stock. It ends with a clear CTA that emphasizes that sense of urgency once more: “Hurry and get yours today!”

Send a birthday discount

Another way to make someone feel special is to send them a discount code for their birthday. It’s even better when you can address the recipient by name, as Jennifer Miller Jewelry does here, as that makes the message feel more personal.

Also note how the text is signed “xo Jen,” which is a very informal way of ending a commercial text message. It really seems as if this is a birthday text from a friend.

Make loyalty program members feel special

If you have a loyalty program, you need to give customers a reason to join and stay part of that program. One way to do that is by offering them early access to your sales, like Asics does in the message above.

Alternatively, you can create discount codes just for your loyalty program members. In the SMS above, Philosophy shares a meaningful discount code (“VIPFLASH”) with its loyalty members for 40 percent off.

Keep it product-specific

There’s no need to give a site-wide discount each time you run a sale. You can do what Steve Madden does here and discount a single product or a single product category. This works especially well with bestsellers. But you can also try this tactic with products you want to get rid of but aren’t selling as quickly.

Use discounts to save abandoned carts

When a shopper abandons their cart, you might want to send them a simple abandoned cart reminder first. If that doesn’t work, consider offering them a discount for finalizing their purchase like Jennifer Miller Jewelry does here.

After all, they may have abandoned a product because they felt the original price was too high, or because they didn’t really need the item they were looking at. In both cases, offering a discount can persuade them to treat themselves.

Keep it a mystery

Inducing curiosity can be a great way to get someone over to your online shop. In this discount text example, Tea Collection lets its subscribers know that it has a 40 percent off deal. But if subscribers want to know what the deal is for, they need to click through to the website.

Offer early access

We’ve already seen a few examples of how you can make your SMS subscribers feel special. This is yet another one. Accessory brand Vincero doesn’t specify a certain group the early access is for. By saying “You’ve got first dibs,” the brand speaks directly to the recipient, making it seem like the recipient has personally been chosen.

The use of the word “now” adds some urgency to the message, as does the CTA “Shop early and save big.”

Discount new products

Nothing stops you from giving a discount when you launch a new product as Beard Struggle does here, but be careful with this tactic as it may decrease the product’s perceived value.

Another tactic Beard Struggle uses is including an image of the new product in its text message. Images tend to elicit higher engagement, so they’re something you might want to experiment with. Just take into account that not all phones and mobile network providers will automatically display images the way you want them to and that adding images to SMS will turn them into an MMS.

Have a flash sale

Want to get people to your store ASAP? A flash sale is the way to go. After all, one of the primary SMS marketing benefits is that you can instantly reach your subscribers where they spend so much of their time— on their phones.

Flash sales are also interesting because they have a sense of urgency baked into them. Most people know what they are, and so all you need to do is let your subscribers know what the flash sale consists of, and how long it’s on for.

Most flash sales are on for 24 hours. It’s a good idea to remind your subscribers throughout those 24 hours of how much time they have left, as Aurate does here in its .

Promote seasonal discounts

Our MailCharts database is full of SMS marketing examples that use holidays and other seasonal events such as the start of summer as a reason to hold a sale. In the text above, designer fashion outlet store BHFO announces its 4th of July sale. Note how the fireworks emojis are relevant to the theme of the sale.

Share back-in-stock discounts

Every reason to celebrate is a reason to treat your customer to a sale. Water brand Hint decided to offer 15 percent off its bundles, as well as free shipping, when it relaunched its popular Peach Raspberry drink. Just as with a new product launch, though, you want to make sure that the sale is clearly a way to celebrate the product being back in stock rather than the discount devaluing the product in the eyes of your customers.