Rich Communication Services (RCS) is revolutionizing mobile messaging, and Bloomreach is at the forefront.
We’re thrilled to be the first omnichannel marketing platform to support RCS natively. Introducing this powerful feature not only elevates our mobile messaging offering but also empowers our customers to be among the first to innovate their marketing strategies and engage customers in more impactful ways.
RCS is about to become your favorite channel for connecting with your customers. In this post, we’ll explain its features and how it will supercharge your mobile marketing campaigns.
What Is Rich Communication Services (RCS)?
Global shoppers love texting with brands. Over half (53%) of those surveyed in 2024 say SMS and MMS are their favorite ways to communicate with businesses, second only to email.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) takes mobile messaging to the next level by merging the broad reach of SMS with the rich, interactive features of messaging apps like WhatsApp. Unlike traditional SMS, which is limited to text, RCS allows brands to engage customers with multimedia content, interactive buttons, carousels, and more — all without requiring shoppers to download any apps. This is good news for the 37.5% of shoppers (the largest share of those polled) who prefer to receive brand messages using a native application.
RCS isn’t exactly a new technology, but it has been largely overlooked as Android and Apple struggled to create a unified messaging service. Now, with Apple’s recent iOS 18 launch and support of RCS, there’s a greater shift toward universal messaging standards across all consumers.
RCS facilitates real-time, two-way conversations that go way beyond SMS to create more meaningful connections with customers. Whether it’s providing customer support, sending personalized promotions, or completing transactions, RCS offers countless opportunities for ecommerce brands.
Why RCS With Bloomreach?
RCS is the future of ecommerce marketing, and Bloomreach is proud to pioneer it. Here’s why our RCS integration is unmatched in the industry:
- First to market: We are proud to be the first omnichannel marketing automation platform to support RCS, highlighting our ongoing commitment to innovation.
- Smarter RCS: RCS can be expensive, but Bloomreach uses AI-powered predictive data to ensure your messages hit when they’re most likely to convert. With our “message less and convert more” approach, you’ll maximize impact while minimizing costs.
- Broad reach: Bloomreach supports a wide range of marketing channels. We integrate with all major tools, not just a select few, making us the industry’s most versatile and powerful platform.
Key Features of RCS for Bloomreach Engagement
With RCS, standard messaging apps gain several cool new capabilities. Here are some of the standout features that RCS offers:
Multimedia Messages
Sharing memes, GIFs, and other media can be a hassle when you’re not sure if they’ll load properly. RCS solves this problem by allowing you to send various file types — such as images, videos, GIFs, audio, and even PDFs — directly in messages. This way, you can create visually engaging content that captures attention and drives customer action.
Extended Text Length
Feeling suffocated by the SMS character limit? Not anymore! RCS allows messages of up to 1,000 characters, giving you the freedom to share detailed information without worrying about sending multiple texts. This means fewer follow-ups to clarify user questions or provide additional details.
Interactive Buttons
Speed up your customer journey with embedded action buttons. Instantly confirm orders, schedule appointments, and find products with a single click. Interactive buttons reduce friction, leading to faster actions and higher bottom-funnel conversions.
Rich Cards and Carousels
RCS supports rich cards that include images, titles, and quick reply buttons, creating a highly interactive experience. You can also use carousels to highlight up to 10 products or services in a single message, allowing users to browse without leaving the conversation. The horizontal scroll feature mimics popular social media apps, making it a familiar and user-friendly experience.
Real-Time Analytics
Ever wanted to know how your customers interact with your messages in real time? RCS offers real-time engagement analytics like delivery reports, read receipts, and on-screen tracking for clicks and interactions. You’ll know when messages are delivered and read to gain a clear view of how your audience is interacting with your content — down to which buttons they’re pressing.
Brand Personalization
You can fully customize your RCS messages with your brand’s tagline, logo, and even chat colors on Android devices, creating a consistent, branded customer experience. Verification badges reassure users that they’re interacting with an authentic brand. This makes sensitive actions like providing payment information feel more secure.
Rich Communications Services Use Cases
The features of RCS open up a wide array of possibilities for marketers. Here are several use cases where RCS shines:
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Abandoned carts can seriously cut into your profits. RCS transforms abandoned cart recovery with rich, interactive messages that feature product images, one-click checkout buttons, and personalized incentives. This seamless, real-time experience engages customers and boosts conversions more effectively than traditional reminders.
Targeted Promotions
RCS takes product promotions to the next level. Whether you’re showcasing a new product or offering a special deal, you can send personalized messages that include images, videos, and direct links. Customers can easily browse through a carousel of items, explore details, and make a purchase — all within the messaging app — creating a seamless and engaging shopping experience that drives higher conversions.
Personalized Shopping Assistance
Provide your customers with personalized shopping assistance by engaging customers with an interactive survey-like experience. You can ask questions about their preferences or needs through rich messaging, allowing them to respond in real time. Based on their answers, you can recommend tailored products or offers, all within the messaging app. This use case not only helps guide customers toward the right products but also captures valuable data to enhance future personalization, driving both customer satisfaction and conversions.
Satisfaction Surveys
Looking for a smarter way to gather customer insights? RCS lets you send interactive surveys right after a purchase or service interaction, making feedback collection effortless. With interactive buttons, customers can answer questions with a simple tap. No more waiting for email responses with poor response rates or dealing with external links — with RCS, everything happens within the customers’ native messaging app. This seamless experience boosts response rates and gives you real-time insights to refine your strategy and enhance customer satisfaction.
Real-Time Customer Support
RCS takes customer support to the next level with instant, interactive help right where customers are. With rich features like clickable buttons for quick replies and verified brand badges for enhanced trust, RCS ensures shoppers get the support they need quickly and seamlessly. Whether troubleshooting, answering questions, or helping with purchases, RCS makes assistance immediate and engaging — keeping customers satisfied without switching between different communication channels.
Booking Confirmations
RCS turns booking confirmations into an interactive experience that goes beyond a simple message. Imagine sending customers a confirmation with clickable options that let them adjust their reservation, change details, or even add services — all within the same chat. With verified sender assurance and responsive buttons, RCS empowers customers to manage bookings effortlessly right from their native messaging app. This instant, flexible approach not only enhances satisfaction but also keeps customers engaged, transforming confirmations into a seamless, supportive experience that builds loyalty.
Why RCS Is a Must-Have for Ambitious Brands
RCS is a breakthrough for how businesses connect with customers. Instead of sending one-way messages, you can have real conversations and build stronger relationships. It’s a great way to give customers what they want and stand out from the competition.
Here are several compelling reasons to add RCS to your marketing strategy:
- Increased engagement: RCS messages stand out in crowded inboxes with multimedia and interactive features, making them more engaging than plain text SMS. Evidence of this can be seen on X (formerly Twitter), where posts with emojis consistently result in higher engagement.
- Higher conversion rates: RCS enables instant, in-message interactions that streamline the customer’s buying journey. With real-time, actionable responses — such as one-click purchases directly within the chat — RCS simplifies the process, reducing friction and driving higher conversion rates at the crucial final stages of the sales funnel.
- Improved customer satisfaction: RCS enhances customer satisfaction by offering real-time support, personalized recommendations, and seamless shopping experiences. Plus, you can do all of this at scale.
- Zero-party data collection: Data is crucial for your ecommerce brand, and RCS can collect the most valuable type: zero-party data, or information that customers willingly provide. Zero-party data enhances your audience segmentation and strengthens your marketing efforts, allowing for more tailored and effective campaigns.
The Future of Mobile Messaging Is Here
Bloomreach ushers in a new era of mobile marketing with Rich Communication Services, giving brands a powerful way to deepen customer engagement. As the first omnichannel platform to integrate RCS, we’re helping businesses create richer, more impactful interactions that elevate mobile marketing strategies.
RCS is the future of mobile messaging, and with Bloomreach Engagement, you can be confident that you’re leading the way. Whether you’re looking to spark real-time conversations, send interactive messages, create a seamless customer experience, or enhance your overall marketing strategy, RCS empowers you with rich, engaging messaging that drives customer action. Request a demo to learn more.
Please note that RCS is still rolling out across the ecosystem. RCS requires carriers like Verizon or Orange, as well as operating systems, like Apple or Android, to cooperate together to support this new messaging protocol. It’s a complex ecosystem that takes time to implement changes: RCS is not fully supported by all carriers in all countries. That means if you’re a business and want to send RCS to an unsupported country, the messages will simply revert back to SMS, leading to a bad customer experience and high costs. In order to ensure you capitalize on all the benefits of RCS, please refer to our documentation, where we’ll be regularly updating the list of supported countries and carriers.