SMS success, creator conversions, and other key stats from this week

A lot happens in a week, so every Friday we're going to analyze all the new data and provide you with some of the key takeaways. Welcome to the Friday 5.

This week, beauty buyers take action on texts, influencers have indirect influence, and podcast fandoms benefit brands.

Key stat: Podcasts produce strong audience ties. Nearly half of podcast fans (46%) are more of a fan of their favorite podcast than any other form of entertainment, according to research by Dentsu, Wondery, and Edison.

• This affection also uplifts affiliated brands. 65% of podcast fans report that they are grateful to brands that support their favorite podcasts, and 54% are more likely to trust those brands, according to the report.

Key stat: The consumer journey may not rely as heavily on influencers as we think. Among consumers who have made an influencer-recommended purchase, 95% normally do some other research before buying, according to a PYMNTS Intelligence report.

• Brands will struggle if they rely on individual influencers to convert, according to the report, as frequent buyers are 61% more likely than occasional ones to rely on multiple influencers as their top source of research.
• Frequent buyers are also twice as likely to say that consulting family or friends is their most-used research method, per the report.

Key stat: Beauty shoppers are taking action when brands text them. These consumers are twice as likely to convert after receiving an SMS cart abandonment message, according to a Listak report.

• They are 2.6 times more likely to convert after receiving an SMS price drop alert, according to the report.
• SMS marketing can bring brands closer to an audience. 82% of consumers check their text notifications within five minutes of receiving a text, according to a SimpleTexting survey.

Key stat: Brands are losing data when they bring their digital messaging offline. 76% of marketers struggle using offline data for cross-channel strategies, according to a Blueshift survey.

• Only 34% of marketers are sure that they offer the same message on all channels, according to the survey.
• Marketers are leaning on AI to fill in those gaps. 84% of brands have seen a conversion boost from combining predictive AI with first-party and third-party data, according to the report.

Key stat: When it comes to ad targeting, consumers want brands to back off. 78% would support a law mandating advertisers to disclose the personal and identity data used in targeting, according to a GumGum report.

• Consumers are taking action to avoid over-personalization—38% of respondents use ad blockers and 30% opted to reject cookies, according to the report.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.