The RCS holiday messaging playbook: Turn texts into branded experiences

The RCS holiday messaging playbook: Turn texts into branded experiences

The holiday season is a make-or-break time for brands. Enterprises depend on the trust and reputation they’ve built throughout the year to connect with customers. But as consumers face a flood of sales and promotions from every direction, it becomes increasingly difficult for brands to break through the noise. 

To stand out, businesses need a direct and engaging way to reach their customers. Rich Communication Services (RCS) delivers just that, offering interactive capabilities while remaining inside customers’ native messaging app.

Instead of sending plain-text links from short code numbers that customers ignore, you can showcase products with high-resolution images, create tap-to-browse experiences, and guide shoppers through their journey with suggested replies. 

Learn the ins and outs of RCS so you can integrate it into your marketing campaign this holiday season. 

Why RCS shines during the holidays 

As a marketing channel, SMS gets results. The high engagement channel boasts 98% open rates and 45% response rates and that’s without the engaging experiences RCS offers as a premium channel. With RCS, organizations can bring in-app features to text messaging, increasing engagement rates and enhancing communications with your brand. Consider the following benefits of interactive rich content features.

Sells with visuals

Shopping is inherently visual. Customers want to see the sparkle of jewelry, the texture of a sweater, or the smile on a child's face with a new toy. Rich cards and carousel cards let you showcase multiple products in a single message, creating an instant gift guide that customers can scroll through without leaving their messaging app. Instead of sending a text with a link to your website, you're bringing your storefront directly to their fingertips.

Removes friction

Every extra tap during holiday shopping is a potential lost sale. RCS suggested replies eliminate the need for customers to type responses—they can simply tap "Check availability," "Add to cart," or "Find nearest store." This streamlined interaction is particularly valuable during the frantic last weeks before holidays when customers are making quick decisions on mobile devices.

Builds trust

During peak shopping season, customers are wary of scams and suspicious links. RCS messages show up as the name of the business in your messages. The addition of verified sender badges and branded logos signal legitimacy. When customers see your official logo and verified checkmark, they're more likely to engage with your message rather than dismiss it as spam.

Enables fast decisions

Holiday shoppers often know what they want but need gentle guidance toward the right choice. RCS suggested replies can present options like "Gifts under $50," "Best sellers," or "Last-minute delivery" that help customers self-segment and find relevant products quickly.

What industries benefit from RCS campaigns?

When we think of holiday campaigns, typically retail and ecommerce come to mind. While RCS campaigns work well for holiday shopping, RCS can be used for a variety of industries and use cases. 

Here are a number of ways other industries could benefit from RCS:

• restaurants promoting holiday catering and family bundles 

• travel and hospitality companies marketing seasonal getaways

• shipping and logistics providers sending delivery updates 

• marketplaces and direct-to-consumer brands driving product discovery

• nonprofits running holiday donation drives

RCS holiday use cases (plus example flows)

Let’s take a closer look at several RCS use cases, templates, and examples to help you picture how to use RCS messaging for your business. 

Gift guide carousels

Transform decision paralysis into quick action by organizing your products into intuitive categories. Create carousel cards for different shopper personas or price points, making it easy for customers to find their ideal starting point.

Goal: Help shoppers quickly find a gift

Flow:

• Message: "Need a last-minute win? Pick a gift below."

• Carousel cards: Best Sellers, Under $50, Cozy Gifts, Tech Toys

• Suggested replies: "See Best Sellers," "Gifts Under $50," "Talk to support"

• Action: Each card opens a product page or provides details within the thread

Holiday gift guide template

Abandoned cart rescue

Holiday abandoned carts often represent genuine interest that’s been derailed by distractions. Shopping card abandonment leads to the average ecommerce company losing 70% of checkouts. Instead of (or in addition to) an abandoned cart email, RCS provides a notification that consumers will see more quickly and offer easy links to complete their purchase. 

Goal: Recover high-intent carts with context and choice

Flow:

• Message: "Your holiday favorites are waiting! Complete your order or save for later."

• Carousel cards: Show the abandoned items with images and prices

• Suggested replies: "Complete order," "Save for later," "Remove items," "Need help?"

• Action: Direct to checkout with the pre-selected items 

Abandoned cart template 

Price drop and back-in-stock

Holiday inventory moves fast, and customers often wait for price drops on wishlist items. RCS makes these alerts visually compelling and immediately actionable.

Goal: Trigger FOMO with timely alerts

Flow:

• Message: "Great news! The [Product Name] you wanted is back in stock—and 25% off."

• Rich card: Product image, original price crossed out, sale price highlighted

• Suggested replies: "Buy now," "Add to wishlist," "Set price alert"

• Action: Direct to product page with the discount applied

Price drop template

Buy online, pick up in store

Buy online, pick up in store reduces shipping anxiety while driving foot traffic to physical locations. RCS can make the entire process seamless from order to pickup confirmation.

Goal: Speed up holiday fulfillment

Flow:

• Message: "Skip the shipping stress! Order online, pick up today."

• Rich card: Featured holiday products with "2-hour pickup" badge

• Suggested replies: "Order now," "Find stores," "Check inventory"

• Action: Location-aware store finder or direct to mobile checkout

Buy online, pick up in store template

Shipping updates

Proactive shipping updates prevent unnecessary customer service tickets while building excitement for package arrival. It also makes shipping logistics easier for both the customer and the sender. If a customer isn’t home, they can update the shipping date, saving both parties time. 

Goal: Reduce "where is my order" queries during busy season

Flow:

• Message: "Your holiday order is on the move! 📦"

• Rich card: Package tracking visual with estimated delivery date

• Suggested replies: "Track package," "Delivery options," "Contact carrier"

• Action: Real-time tracking page or delivery preference updates

Shipping update template

Loyalty and early access

VIP customers expect special treatment during the holidays. RCS makes exclusive access feel premium with branded, personalized experiences.

Goal: Reward members and drive ROI

Flow:

• Message: "VIP Early Access: Shop our holiday collection 24 hours before everyone else."

• Carousel cards: Exclusive products with "VIP Only" badges

• Suggested replies: "Shop now," "Share with friend," "Loyalty rewards"

• Action: Members-only product pages or referral program signup

VIP early access template

Restaurant bundles and upsells

Holiday dining often means feeding larger groups. RCS can showcase family meals and suggest add-ons in an appealing, visual format.

Goal: Promote family food bundles and seasonal sides

Flow:

• Message: "Make hosting easy! Choose your holiday feast below."

• Carousel cards: Family bundles for 4, 6, 8+ people with appetizing imagery

• Suggested replies: "Order for 6," "Add sides," "Delivery info," "Dietary options"

• Action: Customizable bundle builder or direct ordering

Restaurant RCS template

Customer support triage

Holiday support volume spikes as more people need help with order placement and returns, but many questions can be resolved through self-service options presented via RCS.

Goal: Keep queues manageable and moving quickly

Flow:

• Message: "How can we help you today?"

• Rich cards: Common support categories with icons

• Suggested replies: "Track order," "Return item," "Change delivery," "Speak to agent"

• Action: Automated resolution flows or priority queue routing

Customer support RCS template

7 design and UX tips for RCS

Now that your messages include your logo, multiple images, and suggested replies, being intentional about the design of your RCS message will help you increase credibility and engagement. Here are several tips to guide you. 

1. Prioritize verification and brand image

One of the most important aspects of RCS is the verified sender badge and brand logo. This professional appearance increases brand recognition and trust, and determines whether customers engage or ignore your message. Ensure your brand profile is complete with consistent colors, official logo, and verified business information. This foundational credibility is especially important during the holidays when scam messages become more common. 

2. Lead with your hero

Place your highest-converting or most relevant product first in carousel sequences. Holiday shoppers make quick scanning decisions, so your opening image needs to immediately communicate value and relevance to their needs.

3. Keep cards scannable

Holiday shoppers are often multitasking and facing decision fatigue. Use clear product titles, concise benefit statements, and prominent price displays. Avoid cramming too much information into each card—let white space guide the eye to key elements.

4. Use high-resolution images

Blurry or pixelated images kill conversion faster than poor copy. Use crisp, professionally shot product photos that showcase texture, color, and scale. Avoid text-heavy graphics—let your card copy handle the selling while images create desire.

5. Write buttons like commands

Suggested replies should feel like natural next steps, not questions. Use action-oriented language: "Checkout," "Track package," "Find store" rather than passive phrases like "Would you like to checkout?" Clear directions improve tap-through rates because they decrease cognitive load.

6. Limit the number of suggested replies

Three to five suggested replies provide guidance without overwhelming customers. Too many options create decision paralysis, while too few might not cover the customer's actual intent. Test different numbers of options to find the best balance for your messaging.

7. Never stop testing

Holiday campaigns offer high-volume testing opportunities. Experiment with different hero images, carousel orders, suggested reply copy, and call-to-action placement. Small improvements in engagement can translate to meaningful revenue during peak holiday season.

Timing and cadence for peak season

As you’re prepping your campaigns for peak holiday season, keep the following timing tips in mind:

Test segments of your audience: Before you send RCS holiday marketing, you should test RCS with small subsets of your audience. This way you can better understand your customers’ engagement patterns.  

Timing suggestions: Try sending gift guides and discovery-focused messages during the afternoon or evening hours when customers browse leisurely. Share more urgent messages like price drops and inventory alerts during lunch hours and early evening when customers can act immediately.

Provide easy opt-out options: Always provide easy opt-out options and monitor engagement rates to avoid message fatigue. If you see engagement rates dropping, try decreasing your messaging cadence. 

Share how often you plan to send: There isn’t a hard and fast rule for how many messages to send in a week, so set the expectation when a customer signs up for messages. You could share, for example, that you’ll send no more than five text messages in a month. 

Weekend timing: Sending messages on the weekend often varies by audience—B2B customers tend to prefer weekday messages, while consumer retail brands may find weekend engagement higher. Test sending patterns with small segments before committing to full campaign schedules.

Reach, fallback, and compliance

Plan for coverage gaps

While RCS availability and adoption are increasing, not all devices or carriers will be able to accept RCS, making SMS essential as a fallback option. 

You can configure automatic fallback rules that trigger SMS delivery when RCS isn't available, ensuring no customer segment gets left behind. Rich features won’t be available with SMS but you can still maintain the intent of the message. A carousel showcasing four gift categories can become an SMS with four numbered options and a link to a mobile-optimized landing page that showcases the gifts.

And, to create a true omnichannel experience, incorporate your RCS messages into a larger holiday marketing campaign that includes holiday email marketing or WhatsApp marketing, depending on your customers’ preferences.

Maintain compliance standards

Typically, the holiday season sees both an increase in traffic of holiday marketing messages and increased fraud attempts. In particular, smishing (SMS phishing) is disguised as shipping or delivery notifications. 

To protect customers, carriers intensify their filtering efforts and legitimate senders can be blocked if they don’t follow best practices and compliance standards. This is why it’s so important to have your contacts opt-in to your RCS campaigns and provide easy-to-use opt-out options for every message.

In addition to opt-in rules, be sure to respect quiet hours. Avoid sending promotional messages late at night or very early in the morning so that your users won’t flag you as spam. 

More metrics with RCS

RCS enables marketers to get a deeper look at message engagement. With RCS, you can go beyond delivery receipts and access metrics like:

• Read receipts: Whenever an end user opens a message, the message status changes to "Read," providing a similar experience to open rates for emails.

• Carousel card taps: You can monitor which products or categories your customers are tapping. 

• Suggested reply usage: Learn which CTAs interest your customers the most, so you can optimize and improve future campaigns.

This level of engagement can help you create more targeted campaigns that resonate with your customer base. 

Getting started with Twilio

For existing Twilio Messaging customers, RCS integration (which is now generally available at Twilio) builds on your current infrastructure without requiring platform migration or extensive technical changes. The setup process focuses on business verification and content creation rather than complex technical integration.

1. Begin by verifying your business profile with Google and Apple, ensuring your brand information is accurate and complete. Register your RCS business agent in required regions. This could take several weeks during peak registration periods, so start early in preparation for the holiday season.

2. Build your first rich cards and carousels using Twilio's RCS templates, starting with simple product showcases before advancing to complex interactive flows. 

3. Configure SMS fallback rules for those that don’t have RCS. This ensures message delivery regardless of customer device capabilities.

4. Test your campaigns end-to-end with small customer segments, validating both RCS delivery and SMS fallback performance. 

5. Monitor engagement patterns, conversion rates, and customer feedback to refine your approach before full-scale holiday launches.

6. Launch with measurement frameworks in place to track campaign performance against revenue goals. 

7. Continue to test and optimize with engagement data to iterate quickly. Holiday seasons provide compressed feedback cycles that enable rapid optimization of successful elements and quick abandonment of underperforming tactics.

Customers pay attention to marketing that cuts through noise with relevant, engaging experiences. RCS offers the visual appeal and interactive capabilities that customers expect, while Twilio's infrastructure makes sending reliable RCS seamless. 

Start your RCS holiday messaging strategy early and prepare for a season where rich messaging drives real results! Learn more about RCS messaging with Twilio.