As more and more people are being held at home, A2P communication finds better and wider ways to flourish during the COVID-19 pandemic. A growing number of companies and organizations prove the platform helps create a better customer digital experience.

A2P communication means the use of application-to-person (A2P) technology for improving communication with customers. The broad goal takes in various channels, such as SMS, email, social media, and OTT apps (WhatsApp, WeChat, and Telegram). Below highlights how the pandemic has changed the landscape of the A2P market in the world as taken from research by analysysmason.com.

How demands have shifted during the lockdowns

At least in the past year, social distancing and lockdowns caused offline businesses to suffer from a decreasing number of visitors. Other activities that became less frequently happened were in-store visits and in-person customer support.

The enterprises have turned to digital platforms for keeping their businesses running. One inevitable way is reaching out to their customers. It’s also part of their digital transformations which started quicker than had expected. Some selected cloud services for enabling effective and productive work-from-home schemes. This, in turn, has contributed to the increasing demand for A2P services.

Despite so, the demands have changed because of the pandemic. Traditional sectors, such as the retail sector, reduced the number of A2P messages for sending promotional campaigns and in-store payment notifications. Instead, the A2P services rose for e-commerce, online services, logistics, and home-delivery services.

The hospitality segment painted a mixed fact as seen in the airlines, hotels, and public transportation services. In the first weeks of the pandemic, the businesses mostly used the A2P platform for sending cancellations and rescheduling.

A2P communication worked well for the healthcare, government, and non-profit industries. The enterprises and hospitals used the platform for conducting telehealth services. With the service, patients can easily ensure their appointments and ask for information on health services.

A new trending demand probably came from distance learning that facilitated a lot of people spending time indoors for positive activities. This sector will stand as the new favorite for A2P communication in the near future.

The last sector was the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In the United Kingdom, the sector was quickly hit by the outbreak which included food service and arts, entertainment, and recreation industries. The A2P communication helped the sector players to keep engaging with their customers who were still active during lockdowns.

To sum it up, the outbreak has reinforced the importance of A2P communication for all customer purchasing levels. Having been in the A2P industry for almost a decade, our company, PT Triple One Global, is equipped with high-end technology and top consultancy for the usage of A2P for your business. Contact us for more information and partnership.

Also read: Global A2P SMS Market to Rise Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic