Gupshup.io is one of the partners that was part of RCS’ relaunch in The business messaging service has over 1 billion users globallyBrands are using RCS for conversational marketing, commerce, and support
Gupshup.io, the leading Conversational Engagement Platform saw more than 50 million monthly RCS (Rich Communication Services) Business Messages sent through its platform in less than six months of the messaging channel’s relaunch in India. In particular, during the festive season, the RCS traffic grew almost 3X on Gupshup’s platform. RCS is a rich, interactive, 2-way conversational messaging feature available within the native messaging app of Android phones.
With more than 1 billion RCS users globally, Gupshup.io has seen delivery rates of more than 98% and read rates of more than 35% for messages sent through its platform. It is witnessing good interest from companies in sectors such as – BFSI, Retail/eCommerce, Gaming, Health & Wellness.
Brands using the channel have seen tangible outcomes both in terms of customer engagement and awareness. BankBazaar, a leading fintech company specializing in the distribution of financial products, particularly loans and credit cards, achieved success through Conversational Marketing on RCS.
“Our partnership with Gupshup.io has helped us deliver a personalized and engaging messaging experience, making it easier for our customers to explore and understand our products. It has been a rewarding journey so far and we look forward to scaling the partnership in the future,” said Murari Sridharan, CTO, of BankBazaar.com.
RCS is supported in Messages by Google, the native SMS app of Android, including from leading OEMs such as Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo and Mi, offering the next-generation messaging experience, with the messaging standard of 5G. Samsung Messages, the legacy SMS app in older Samsung devices, also supports RCS.
The messaging channel enables brands to inform, engage and support their customers via rich images, GIFs, videos, and carousels. They can also share product recommendations, deal alerts, wishlist items and in-stock notifications, giving customers easy options to communicate with brands. RCS also requires brands to have a verified sender ID, backed by a trust mark to build credibility among customers.
RCS is a key messaging channel in Gupshup’s Conversational Engagement Platform, complementing an array of 30 other messaging channels available to customers through Gupshup’s Single API for messaging. As a part of the 5G standard, RCS represents the evolution of SMS, encompassing multimedia elements like images, audio, video, and presence, bolstered by enhanced security and encryption.
In 2021, Gupshup.io acquired Dotgo, the global industry leader in RCS business messaging (RBM), with award-winning technologies such as the RichOTP®, RichSMS™, Bot Store®, and MaaP (Messaging as a Platform) to foster the growth of RCS Business Messaging. The acquisition has significantly strengthened Gupshup’s conversational messaging platform and enabled businesses and developers to build rich customer experiences.
Beerud Sheth, Founder and CEO, of Gupshup, said, “RCS business messaging will revolutionize businesses’ customer communication. With conversational interactions increasingly becoming the norm in business-customer engagement, the RCS messaging channel will play a pivotal role in driving meaningful contextual conversations. As a pioneer in driving engaging conversations, Gupshup is well-positioned to offer a strong value proposition in the market. Our strategy and focus on conversational messaging and conversational AI, help us offer a broader range of conversational messaging solutions to businesses and developers.”
With Apple’s announcement of supporting RCS in 2024, the channel is set to get a further fillip. RCS’s adoption on Apple devices opens up possibilities for business messaging with features like branding, verification, encryption, two-way chat, and recognizable sender IDs for Apple users.