SMS Marketing Compliance Updates for 2025: What You Need to Know

If you're leveraging SMS as part of your retention marketing strategy, it's time to tighten things up. New compliance rules for 2025 are here, and they’re stricter than ever. One wrong move could get your number flagged or worse—banned from sending.

This post breaks down the biggest changes you need to be aware of to stay compliant, maintain high deliverability, and maintain strong SMS performance metrics.

Why Compliance Matters More Than Ever

SMS marketing is still one of the most direct and high-converting tools available to brands. But it's also heavily regulated. With 2025 bringing more scrutiny, staying ahead of the rules is no longer optional. Ignoring compliance can hurt your sender reputation, tank your SMS conversion rate, and disrupt key parts of your retention marketing strategies.

This is also where the right partners can make or break your program. Working with an email and SMS marketing agency ensures your automation setup aligns with performance goals and legal requirements.

The 2025 SMS Compliance Updates, Explained

1. Send Times: Stick to 8 AM to 9 PM (Local Time)

Sending messages outside of these windows is no longer frowned upon—it’s prohibited. These hours are enforced based on the recipient's local time zone, not your brand’s.

Pro tip: Automate quiet hours across your platform to avoid mistakes. Even one late-night text could trigger a spike in unsubscribes and impact your sms retention rate.

2. 1 SMS per Abandonment Event (Not 2 or 3)

In 2025, brands can send only one SMS per cart abandonment event. This message must be:

• Sent within 24 hours of the event.
• Clearly related to the abandonment.
• Not followed up with any additional abandonment texts.

Any more than one, and you’re in violation.

3. No More Than 3 SMS in 24 Hours (Across Campaigns + Flows)

This is a common mistake: brands send a campaign, a flow, and a transactional message on the same day. Under the new rules, that adds up to three, and that’s the cap.

Go over? Expect deliverability issues, complaints, or carrier penalties.

4. Messages Must Be Timely and Relevant

Compliance isn’t just about when you send—it’s also about what you send. Ensure your SMS copy directly relates to the user's recent behavior, purchase history, or interests.

In other words, no irrelevant "blasts."

5. No More Ghost Abandonment Campaigns

It’s become a bad habit for some brands to trigger abandonment messages without confirmed intent—like a product view triggering a cart reminder. These “ghost abandonment” tactics are being cracked down on hard in 2025. Your message must be based on confirmed user activity: an actual item in the cart and/or checkout start.

6. More Transparency in Consent Language

Consent collection must now be explicitly documented at the point of opt-in. That means no pre-checked boxes and no confusing copy. You’ll need to clearly disclose what type of messages someone agrees to receive—and how often.

Audit your popups, landing pages, and checkout flows now to avoid headaches later.

How to Maintain High SMS Performance in 2025

Compliance doesn't have to mean boring or ineffective. Here’s how to boost your sms conversion rate while staying within the lines.

Use SMS to support your email marketing strategy

Let email handle storytelling, promotions, and educational content. Use SMS for speed, urgency, and key reminders.

Prioritize segmentation and preferences

Let users choose how many texts they want to receive. Create VIP lists, low-frequency lists, and personalize based on intent. This not only improves engagement but also keeps your total send count under the 3-message limit.

Monitor key sms performance metrics

Track:

• SMS marketing benchmarks, like delivery rate, click-through rate, and opt-out trends
• What is a good SMS open rate? While the answer depends on your industry, most brands should aim for open rates above 90%. If you see anything lower, it’s worth auditing your timing, segmentation, and sender reputation.
• Opt-out rates by flow and campaign

The stronger your engagement, the less likely you are to trigger carrier filters.

Strengthen your creative and CTA strategy

In a world where you have fewer chances to text, every message needs to hit harder. Focus on crystal-clear CTAs, urgency, and mobile-friendly creative. Use dynamic content and A/B testing to optimize performance without increasing send volume.

Partner with an expert sms marketing agency

The rules are only getting more nuanced. Having experts in your corner means you can innovate without risking violations.

Avoiding Common Compliance Pitfalls

• Don’t batch and blast SMS like email
• Don’t resend abandonment messages via text
• Don’t forget to include opt-out language ("Reply STOP to unsubscribe")
• Don’t ignore carrier feedback or warning messages
• Don’t forget to test for quiet hour compliance across time zones
• Don’t skip audits of your current automations—many platforms don’t automatically cap sends across campaigns and flows

Final Thoughts

The future of SMS isn’t about volume. It’s about velocity, relevance, and retention. If you're sending texts without strategy or segmentation, you’re not just wasting money—you're risking your brand.

Want a team that stays ahead of SMS marketing compliance and drives results? Book a free strategy call with Stimulate—the email marketing agency and sms marketing partner trusted by high-growth brands to scale retention without the guesswork.

It’s 100% free, zero-pressure, and packed with real strategies you can actually use. You’d be surprised how much we give away.

Because in 2025, playing it smart is playing to win.