Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, India and Singapore record massive smartphone user bases

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global cloud communication platform, Infobip has unveiled a new report titled 'RCS: A New Era of Customer Engagement,' which highlights research by IDC on the transformative potential of Rich Communication Services (RCS) in the Asia-Pacific region. The research reveals how a global smartphone user base of 5.1 billion presents new opportunities for brands to deliver personalized, interactive, and secure messaging experiences through RCS, particularly in countries such as Indonesia (146.3 million users), Malaysia (28.6 million users), Philippines (60.4 million users), India (653.1 million users), and Singapore (6.4 million users). With iOS now supporting RCS, brands can reach a broader audience with rich, engaging content directly on users' mobile phones.

As businesses increasingly adopt digital communication channels, the need for secure messaging has become critical with the rise in phishing attacks in 2024. With India, Japan, and Australia ranking among the top 10 most targeted countries, RCS helps businesses protect their customers from falling victim to phishing. By integrating verified sender IDs and brand logos, which add a vital layer of legitimacy to messaging campaigns, this security feature of RCS ensures that customers can easily distinguish authentic messages from malicious ones.

Beyond security, RCS empowers brands to deliver contextually relevant communication throughout the customer journey, fostering long-term customer value and loyalty. By 2029, the report predicts that 60% of G2000 firms will shift from traditional KPIs like sales and profit to experience-oriented metrics, such as customer journey analytics and omnichannel engagement. The effectiveness of RCS is already evident. In India, fintech platform BankBazaar saw an 80% higher click-through rate with RCS compared to SMS, which further increased to 130% with the use of GIFs. This innovation has doubled customer response rates and established RCS as a core component of their marketing strategy. Similarly, Niva Bupa, a leading insurance provider in India, achieved a 75% ROI and improved customer retention with RCS.

Ivan Ostojic, Chief Business Officer, Infobip, said, "As RCS becomes widely available on both Android and iOS, it is transforming the way brands interact with their customers. Highly personalized interactions have proven to be effective, with response rates several times higher than traditional communication channels, underscoring the value of tailoring communication to individual needs. With RCS, businesses can engage directly with customers through the native messaging app, delivering a more personalized and seamless experience." He added, "RCS is not just a messaging channel but a vital component of a brand's omnichannel strategy. In today's competitive digital landscape, it empowers brands to build trust, drive engagement, and foster lasting relationships while meeting evolving customer expectations."

Gain deeper insights into RCS and its impact on the APAC region by downloading the report. Click here.

About Infobip

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip's omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact centre solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and 'things' in 6 continents connected to over 9,700+ connections of which 800+ are direct operator connections. Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić, Roberto Kutić and Izabel Jelenić.

Recent award wins include:

• Infobip named number one among Established Leaders in RCS Business Messaging in Juniper Research's RCS Business Messaging Competitor Leaderboard 2024 (Nov 2024)
• Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) 2024 for the second year running (June 2024)
• Infobip named to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies (March 2024)
• Infobip named a leader in the CPaaS Leaderboard, Juniper Research (March 2024)
• Infobip ranked as number one Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider, in the inaugural MetriRank CPaaS Report from Metrigy (Dec 2023)
• Infobip named a leader in the CCaaS Leaderboard, Juniper Research (Dec 2023)
• Omdia Ranks Infobip as Leader for the second year running in its CPaaS Universe Report (Nov 2023)
• Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) 2023 (Sept 2023)
• Infobip named a leader in the Juniper Customer Data Platform Leaderboard Report (July 2023)
• Infobip named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) 2023 Vendor Assessment (doc #US50607923, May 2023)