Part of a wider attempt to give users more reasons to engage with the service, Facebook Messenger’s latest move will see it integrating SMS messages into its platform.
As our chart shows, WhatsApp currently enjoys a healthy lead over Messenger for usage frequency – almost 8 in 10 WhatsAppers are engaging at least daily, compared to 6 in 10 Messenger users. What’s more, almost twice the number of Messenger users are engaging with the service less than weekly.
Of course, WhatsApp’s role as a sleek messaging service gives it an advantage here. Nevertheless, with the majority of internet users still sending SMS/text messages each month, it’s clear that – alongside becoming a service platform – learning from WhatsApp’s focus on core communication functionality could seriously benefit Messenger.
