Every day, consumers encounter marketing messages before they even realise it. A sale alert buzzes on a phone early in the morning. A promotional SMS lands around lunchtime. A television commercial announces a festive offer during prime time. These moments are not accidental. They are examples of push marketing, one of the oldest and most persistent forms of brand communication.
At its core, push marketing refers to strategies where brands initiate communication instead of waiting for customers to seek them out. Unlike pull marketing, which relies on discovery and interest over time, push marketing places messages directly in front of consumers with the intent of prompting immediate attention or action. Whether the goal is awareness, engagement, or conversion, the principle remains the same: brands push, consumers respond.
Push marketing spans both traditional and digital environments. Billboards, radio jingles, print inserts, and television ads are classic push channels, designed to broadcast messages at scale. Digital formats such as mobile app notifications, SMS campaigns, email blasts, browser alerts, and WhatsApp messages represent the modern evolution of the same idea. The medium has changed, but the logic has not.
What has changed significantly is precision.
Push marketing has evolved from mass media exposure to data-driven targeting. On the traditional side, it continues to command large budgets. Television advertising still accounts for close to 30 percent of total ad spend in India, underscoring its ability to push brand narratives to millions simultaneously. In-store displays and retail promotions remain critical for categories like FMCG, electronics, and automotive.
On the digital side, push marketing has become far more personalised and measurable. Mobile app push notifications are now central to engagement strategies for platforms across sectors. Food delivery apps use them to trigger lunch-time orders. Fintech platforms rely on them for transaction updates and product nudges. OTT platforms use them to notify users about new releases.
This shift toward digital push is backed by performance data. Studies from the past two years show that mobile app users who receive push notifications are far more likely to return than those who do not. Around 60 percent of users who receive push alerts return to an app within the first month, compared to less than 30 percent among users who receive no notifications at all. For brands operating in crowded app ecosystems, this difference is significant.
Click-through rates further explain why push remains attractive. While average digital push notification CTRs typically range between 3 and 5 percent, well-timed and personalised messages often perform far better. Targeted campaigns in media and sports apps have recorded CTRs exceeding 30 percent during live events. An Indian sports content platform saw a 32 percent click-through rate after introducing real-time score alerts, along with a 120 percent increase in average time spent on its platform.
SMS marketing continues to outperform many digital channels despite its age. Open rates for SMS often exceed 90 percent, and messages are usually read within minutes. In sectors like banking, retail, and telecom, SMS remains a trusted push channel for alerts and limited-time offers. WhatsApp has further blurred the line between transactional and conversational push. Brands now send personalised reminders, recommendations, and confirmations through chat-based formats that feel less intrusive and more contextual.
Email marketing remains part of the push ecosystem, although its effectiveness depends heavily on segmentation. Broad email blasts tend to underperform, but targeted email campaigns still deliver value, particularly for B2B, fintech, and subscription-driven businesses.
Web push notifications have also gained traction. These browser-based alerts allow brands to re-engage users without requiring an app download. Several Indian fintech platforms use web push notifications to alert users about rate changes, offers, or market movements. One such campaign helped a large bank acquire over one million opt-in subscribers and convert more than a third of them into qualified leads.
The return on investment from push marketing is one of its strongest arguments. Recent industry benchmarks show that push notification campaigns can deliver ROI multiples well above those of email marketing. In some cases, digital push campaigns have delivered returns exceeding 30 times the original investment. SMS marketing has shown even higher returns, particularly when used for time-sensitive offers or reminders.
Conversion data reinforces this. Targeted push notifications have delivered conversion rates between 20 and 30 percent in retail and beauty categories. In one campaign run by a beauty retailer, nearly all users who clicked a personalised push alert completed a purchase. Revenue generated per push message in that campaign was more than ten times higher than revenue generated per marketing email.
Push marketing’s effectiveness extends beyond retail. OTT platforms have used push notifications to improve content discovery and retention. An Indian streaming platform reported a 30 percent increase in next-day user retention and a 75 percent improvement in seven-day retention after introducing contextual push campaigns tied to content releases. Fintech apps using behavioural push alerts have seen higher completion rates for onboarding and financial transactions.
Despite its effectiveness, push marketing carries risks. Overuse can quickly turn helpful alerts into digital noise. Users can mute notifications, unsubscribe, or uninstall apps entirely if they feel overwhelmed.
Keyur Dhami, Vice President of Customer Success at WebEngage, points out that frequency and relevance are critical. According to him, excessive notifications without clear value lead to fatigue and opt-outs. Brands need to align push strategies with user behaviour rather than internal campaign calendars.
Mitesh Kothari, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at White Rivers Media, echoes this view. He notes that timing and context matter more than volume. Notifications should arrive when users are most receptive and should offer something meaningful. Otherwise, they risk being ignored or resented.
Analytics plays a central role in balancing impact and restraint. Jacob Joseph, Vice President of Data Science at CleverTap, stresses that brands must understand user behaviour before scaling push campaigns. Segmented push notifications, he says, consistently outperform generic ones, delivering significantly higher open and conversion rates.
Marketers are also shifting how they measure success. Clicks alone are no longer enough. Conversion, revenue contribution, retention, and opt-out rates now shape push strategy decisions. A spike in uninstalls or notification opt-outs often signals that a campaign has crossed the line from helpful to intrusive.
Traditional push channels continue to complement digital efforts. Television and radio remain powerful for mass awareness, particularly during launches and seasonal campaigns. Many brands now combine broad-reach TV advertising with targeted digital push notifications to drive action. A car manufacturer, for example, may use television to introduce a new model while using app notifications and SMS to invite existing customers for test drives.
In today’s fragmented media environment, push marketing remains one of the few tools that offers direct access to consumers. Its strength lies in immediacy and control. When executed with care, it guides users through moments that matter, whether that is a reminder, an alert, or a timely offer.
The broader lesson for marketers is restraint. Push marketing works best when it respects attention rather than exploits it. Brands that prioritise relevance, timing, and value continue to see strong returns. Those that rely on volume alone risk being tuned out.
Push marketing has changed in form, but not in purpose. It remains a proactive approach to engagement, adapted for a digital-first world. In an era of constant distraction, well-executed push marketing still has the power to cut through, connect, and convert.
Disclaimer: All data points and statistics are attributed to published research studies and verified market research. All quotes are either sourced directly or attributed to public statements.