RCS and SMS are not rivals, they do different jobs. RCS suits rich experiences while SMS wins on reach and reliability. As Australian retailers lean harder on owned channels, matching the message to the right channel is where the return comes from.
The channel is not the strategy. The job the message has to do is the strategy.
The messaging question for ecommerce is not RCS or SMS. It is which one fits the task. RCS brings rich features like images, buttons, read receipts and verified sender branding. SMS is plain text that lands almost anywhere. Treating them as rivals misses the point. They do different jobs.
RCS shines for anything that benefits from a richer experience. Product carousels, order tracking with a map, a branded sender name that tells the customer it is really you. SMS wins on reach and reliability. It works on every phone, needs nothing installed and gets opened fast. The mistake is picking one for everything.
Why it matters
Australian retailers are spending more on owned channels as paid media gets dearer, and messaging is one of the cheapest ways to reach a customer who already knows you. Get the split right and you cut cost while lifting response. Get it wrong and you either pay for features you do not use or send a rich experience to a phone that cannot show it.
The deeper point is discipline. Businesses reach for the newest, richest option because it feels modern, not because the task calls for it. A one-line delivery alert does not need a carousel. A product launch might. Matching the tool to the job is where the return comes from.
SMS open rates sit around 98%, which is why plain text still earns its place next to richer channels
What to do about it
Map your message types to the channel that actually suits them. Alerts and codes on SMS, rich experiences on RCS.
Check what your customers' devices support before you commit to RCS-only sends.
Use RCS verified sender branding for anything where trust and identity matter.
Measure response by message type, not just by channel, so you know what is really working.
Stop asking which channel is better. Start asking what each message is for.