Mobilesquared’s report into RCS business messaging found that more than 168 mobile operators are set to support RCS by the end of 2019, rising to 486 by the end of 2023, as interest in the messaging technology grows.
The Mobilesquared report predicts that major brands will spend more than $18 billion on RCS business messaging by 2023 – up from just $184 million in 2019, driven by more brands and businesses opting to use the platform.
In addition, Mobilesquared revealed the market opportunity with 57.5% of mobile users inclined to use RBM if the experience is at least as good as existing OTT channels such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat or Line.
Only 5.7% of brands and businesses said they would launch RCS business messaging (RBM) immediately, but this number is set to increase to a majority of 65.8% three years after the launch of RBM. Mobilesquared identified content sharing, branded experiences and 1-2-1 chat as some of the key drivers of the expected growth of RCS.
Western Europe is expected to see the highest RCS spend by 2023 at average $1.37 per user per month. This is followed by Oceania ($1.11), Eastern Europe ($0.63), the Middle East ($0.27), North America ($0.26) and the Caribbean ($0.25).
Commenting on the research, Mobilesquared chief data analyst, Gavin Patterson, said: “Although a number of questions remain about specific pricing models, the RCS business messaging platform has almost universally proven to show an increase in consumer opt-ins, click-through rates, satisfaction, engagement and conversion for brands and businesses.
“This, coupled with the expected increase in messaging volumes due to the use of chat sessions which encourage a conversational flow between brand and customer, means that the entire ecosystem – from mobile operator to aggregator, brand and consumer – can benefit from RBM.”
