When is the best time to run your SMS and RCS campaigns?
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A SMS takes less than 3 minutes to read, but its success with your customers depends on a factor that’s all too often overlooked: the timing of the message. The best days to send messages, optimal time slots, industry-specific considerations, and the nuances of the RCS ( SMS s 2.0)—we’ll give you the keys to turning every marketing campaign into a welcome event rather than an unwelcome interruption.
The time of sending—an all-too-often overlooked factor—why does it make all the difference?
Why is the time of sending so important?
Unlike email, which people check in batches at specific times, a “ SMS ” triggers an immediate notification. The recipient is therefore interrupted in what they’re doing, which works both in your favor (guaranteed attention) and against you (annoyance if the timing is off). One statistic sums up this delicate balance well: a single “ SMS ” can swing from a 98% open rate to a spike in unsubscribes, depending solely on the timing.
Three indicators are directly related to the time of sending:
- The open rate: virtually the same regardless of the time of day ( SMS is read early or late), but the time it takes to read it varies greatly
- Click-through and conversion rates: highly sensitive to timing, as they depend on the recipient's mental availability
- The unsubscribe rate (STOP): increases significantly when emails are sent at a time considered intrusive
Which time slots should you prioritize?
| Niche | Average share of shipments | Why | Recommended Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m., in the morning | 17.8% (≈ 8.9% per hour) | Core of customers' business: fierce competition in recipients' inboxes and the risk of delivery delays. | Short, functional messages (appointment reminders, codes, alerts). Avoid promotional messages, which get lost in the stream. |
| 12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m., lunch | 14.3% (≈ 7.2% per hour) | There's a midday lull in customer messages, so there are fewer competing messages. 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. is the quietest time, right in the middle of the lunch hour. | Marketing and campaigns. Aim for 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m.: the recipient is available and less likely to be distracted. |
| 6:00–7:00 p.m., leaving work | 4,1 % | Low volume of customer shipments, so there is little competition when the work is completed. | Reminders, offers, and messages to read at your leisure. |
| Before 8 a.m. / after 8 p.m. | 11.9% (≈ 1% per hour) | Low volume of customer messages, mostly transactional (codes, alerts). | Avoid: Perceived as intrusive and not compliant with marketing regulations. (Note: The law prohibits sending e SMS s before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:30 p.m. on weekdays in France; therefore, the best marketing time slots naturally fall within this window.) |
Study based on 745 million SMS s sent via smsmode© services from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026
Which days are best?
Weekdays remain by far the most popular days for campaigns SMS. Among messages sent via smsmode©, Tuesday accounts for the highest volume of campaigns, followed closely by Wednesday. Monday and Thursday show fairly similar volumes, slightly lower than the previous two days. Friday, on the other hand, remains—excluding weekends—the least popular day for sending campaigns.
It’s no coincidence that midweek dominates: on Mondays, recipients are catching up on tasks that piled up over the weekend and pay less attention to marketing messages. On Fridays, by contrast, their minds are already focused on the weekend. Tuesday and Wednesday thus offer the best of both worlds: the pressure of Monday has subsided, and the pressure of the weekend hasn’t started yet. Recipients are more available and more receptive to your products, making these days more reliable time slots for a marketing campaign.
The AF2M (French Association for the Development of Multi-Operator Multimedia Services and Applications) takes the same stance: it urges campaign organizers not to overburden their recipients with messages on Sundays and holidays, and to focus their mailings on the period from Monday through Saturday.
Best Practices for Scheduling Your Campaigns
Choosing the right time slot isn't everything: a few additional principles can help you sustainably improve the performance of your SMS and RCS mailings.
Consent
Experience is more important than the schedule
"In the heat of the moment" is often better than a statistical window. A confirmation e SMS s triggered immediately after a purchase, or an abandoned cart follow-up sent within 1 to 24 hours after the cart was abandoned, derives its effectiveness from the context of the customer journey rather than the time of day. This type of message generally generates more clicks than a traditional campaign. These are typically scenarios that should be automated, so as not to rely solely on “standard” days and times.
An audience spread across different geographic regions requires localized scheduling. Scheduling a single send at a fixed time means reaching your contacts at very different times of their day, depending on their time zone. Scheduled sending allows you to time each message according to the recipient’s local time rather than a single send time.
The Regulatory Framework
Leave some wiggle room when it comes to legal limits—don’t just strictly adhere to them. An SMS sent at 8:01 a.m. or 7:58 p.m. is technically compliant, but it can be perceived as just as intrusive as a message sent outside the permitted time window. It’s better to stay well within the permitted window, especially for your marketing campaigns.
A recipient who has been forewarned is less likely to unsubscribe. Stating an estimated frequency of communication right from the start (for example, two SMS per month) sets clear expectations and makes an unexpected message much more acceptable than a contact that catches the recipient off guard.
The calendar alone isn’t enough—current events matter too. A holiday or a statistically optimal time slot doesn’t justify sending out a marketing message if there’s serious news or a sensitive national situation. The right time depends as much on the current context as it does on the scheduled timeline.
Master all the important points before sending your campaign
The Right Time Based on Your Industry
There is no one-size-fits-all time slot: the right time depends as much on the decision-making cycle specific to your business as it does on each customer’s behavior. Cross-referencing these recommendations with your own campaign data remains the best way to refine them. Not all of your customers respond the same way to a given time slot—which is why this table is meant to be a starting point, not a hard-and-fast rule.
| Sector | Recommended day/time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Stores | Tuesday or Thursday, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. or between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. | These time slots correspond to times when customers are available to review an offer before visiting the store, outside of peak hours |
| E-commerce and Retail | Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday between 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., or Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. | Online traffic is generally higher in the evenings and on weekends, which creates an environment conducive to purchasing decisions |
| Hotels | Thursday, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. | Planning for Weekend Trips |
| Software / SaaS | Wednesday, 2:00–3:00 p.m. | Traffic to professional web SMS s peaks in the early afternoon, making it an ideal time to launch a new product |
| Marketing / Agencies | Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. or between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. | Time slots aligned with business hours when these B2B contacts are most likely to check their messages |
| Catering | Every day, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. | A reception held just before mealtime captures people's attention at the very moment they are making their decision |
RCS: Do the same rules apply?
RCS builds on the conventions of the “ SMS ” (native notifications, near-immediate delivery), so the same time slots (8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. for operational messages, 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. for sales messages) remain relevant. The difference lies in its enriched format (visuals, buttons, carousels): an RCS message lends itself better to “discovery” browsing than a plain-text SMS , which would slightly extend the effective window toward lunchtime for more visual content (product catalogs, illustrated offers).
In this context, it may be worthwhile to test an RCS campaign alongside your usual SMS , particularly for sales-oriented campaigns: this is often where the enriched format would best capture attention and drive engagement. The RCS carousel is also particularly well-suited for highlighting a flagship product or a new release.
How often should you send emails?
- Whether for your marketing campaigns or automated emails, frequency remains a key factor in customer satisfaction. One to two marketing campaigns per month is the generally recommended frequency to avoid overwhelming your subscriber base.
- Increase the frequency of calls to action during peak sales periods—such as sales events, holidays, and Black Friday—when more frequent calls to action are well tolerated
- Automate personalized e SMS s (birthdays, appointment reminders): They do not count as traditional sales activities and are generally well-received, as they are expected by the recipient.
What are the consequences of not adhering to the schedule?
Beyond the regulatory aspect, ignoring the authorized time slots has real-world consequences:
- CNIL Penalties: In the event of a violation of the GDPR or marketing rules, fines can reach tens of thousands of euros for a microbusiness or small business
- Blocking sender numbers: Mobile carriers can block a sender identified as generating complaints or sending messages outside of permitted time frames
- Declining deliverability: A history of poorly received emails (high "STOP" rates, complaints) damages the sender's reputation over time, well beyond the scope of the specific marketing campaign
FAQ
What's the best time of day to send a sales e SMS ?
The 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. time slot would be the most favorable for a marketing campaign, as it coincides with a lull in mailings from other senders and greater availability on the recipient’s part.
What are the legal requirements regarding the timing of SMS ?
In France, it is prohibited to send commercial e SMS s before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:30 p.m., as well as on Sundays and holidays, except in cases of emergency or for service-related purposes.
How can you tailor shipping schedules based on customer type or industry?
The right time slot depends on each industry’s specific decision-making cycle: an appointment reminder follows the logic of the customer journey, while an e-commerce or retail offer tends to follow daily browsing habits.
What is the optimal frequency for sending emails to prevent unsubscribes?
One to two sales campaigns per month are generally recommended for a balanced marketing strategy, excluding peak periods (sales, holidays). Automated and personalized e SMS s (reminders, birthdays) are generally not subject to this limit.
What are the risks of failing to comply with legal working hours?
CNIL penalties, blocking of sender numbers by carriers, and a lasting decline in the deliverability of future campaigns.
In a nutshell
The best time for your SMS , and RCS campaigns is usually midweek, around 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. for your promotional messages and 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. for your informational messages, strictly excluding prohibited time slots and Sundays. But the real answer depends on your industry, your audience, and your sales goals: use your own campaign data to refine your strategy, test, measure, adjust, and use a scheduling platform like smsmode© to turn this best practice into an automated process.
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