SMS is more than just a channel for these women-owned brands. Driving growth starts with bold ideas, sharp strategies, and a deep understanding of what their customers want.

With Attentive, these brands are creating data-driven, highly personalized experiences that convert. They’re scaling smarter, optimizing in real time, and delivering value with every send. Below, we break down how eight women-owned brands are using Attentive to turn strategy into measurable success.

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Marleylilly: Streamlining engagement across SMS, email, and AI

Marleylilly is a South Carolina-based, women-owned brand known for personalized apparel, accessories, and gifts. As their business grew, managing SMS and email through separate platforms created operational inefficiencies and made it harder to deliver a consistent experience.

To solve this, the team migrated to Attentive and brought SMS, email, and AI tools into one platform. They implemented a unified sign-up experience to grow both channels more efficiently, and launched automated journeys based on real-time customer behavior. Attentive’s AI suite, including Send Time AI, Identity AI, and Audiences AI, helped them reach more site visitors, optimize send times, and refine targeting across segments.

With these tools in place, Marleylilly reduced manual lift while increasing performance across both SMS and email. Their marketing team was able to focus on creative strategy instead of day-to-day execution—and saw a measurable impact on revenue.

Key results:

• 220x ROI on SMS welcome journey
• 38% email CVR on browse abandonment journey
• 32% lift in revenue using Attentive AI

Attentive equipped us with tools for both email and SMS like advanced segmentation, AI-powered optimization with Attentive AI, and real-time targeting. These features simplified workflows, eliminated operational silos, and empowered us to create a fully integrated marketing strategy.
-  Morgan Wagner, Senior Marketer, Marleylilly

Cecil and Lou: Unlocking smarter performance with unified email and SMS

Cecil and Lou, a women-founded children’s clothing brand rooted in classic southern style, had ambitious goals for growth. But with SMS and email on separate platforms, their team faced a disjointed workflow and an inconsistent customer experience. On top of that, their legacy email provider was slow to respond and lacked the insights they needed to evolve their strategy.

Recognizing the success of their SMS program with Attentive, Cecil and Lou decided to migrate email to the same platform. The implementation process was smooth, with Attentive’s team managing onboarding from inbox warming through full-scale campaign sends. With email and SMS finally working together, the team gained access to real-time customer behavior insights and began building cohesive, cross-channel journeys that felt seamless to subscribers.

With a more complete view of the subscriber lifecycle, Cecil and Lou personalized content more effectively, optimized send times using Attentive AI, and introduced new journeys powered by Attentive Concierge. From high-intent and browse abandonment messages to tailored email campaigns, every interaction became more relevant. The result was a dramatic improvement in engagement and revenue across the board.

Key results:

• 4,664% surge in email revenue
• 40% rise in SMS revenue
• 57% increase in unique clicks

We now have a comprehensive view of the subscriber lifecycle, enabling precise targeting and highly effective communication strategies. Attentive allows us to operate with the confidence that our needs will always be addressed promptly and effectively.
-  Gina Moers, Marketing, Cecil and Lou

Little Sleepies: Using Attentive AI Pro to personalize SMS at scale

Little Sleepies, a children’s apparel brand known for its buttery-soft pajamas and adorable prints, saw rapid growth after launching SMS with Attentive. Their subscriber list grew quickly, but as they scaled, their approach of sending the same message to every subscriber started to lose impact. The team needed a smarter, more personalized way to engage their audience—without increasing their manual workload.

To refine their SMS strategy, Little Sleepies became early adopters of Attentive AI Pro. With features like Identity AI, Audiences AI, and Send Time AI, they gained access to tools that helped them deliver highly personalized, behavior-based messaging. Identity AI allowed the team to recognize and re-target 43% more site visitors, which unlocked more opportunities for timely triggered messages. Using Audiences AI, they tested new ways to build and refine segments. In one campaign, AI-augmented segments drove 85% of total campaign revenue. Send Time AI also helped them uncover when subscribers were most likely to engage, shifting their send times away from assumptions and toward data-backed precision.

With these tools working together, Little Sleepies turned SMS into a high-performing, customer-first channel that helped increase engagement and drive revenue without requiring more manual effort.

Key results:

• 43% more site visitors identified and re-targeted using Identity AI
• 31% increase in journey revenue
• 27% increase in campaign revenue

As a brand, we're very customer-centric and that expands into our marketing strategy as well. It's all about optimization at this point, we have the basics down but there's always ways to improve what we're doing. That's where AI comes in, it's a way for us to achieve what we wouldn't have been able to before and create the best experience for our customers and for us as marketers.
-  Christine Taylor, Senior Retention Marketing Manager

Baked by Melissa: Creating moments that convert with personalized SMS

Baked by Melissa, the New York-based brand known for its handcrafted bite-sized cupcakes, needed to replicate the energy of its in-store experience across digital channels. When foot traffic declined and gifting behavior shifted during the pandemic, the team turned to SMS to drive ecommerce sales and maintain close connections with loyal customers.

With Attentive, Baked by Melissa launched a text messaging program designed to feel personal and on-brand. The team sent subscribers exclusive offers, sneak peeks of new products, and shipping reminders ahead of major holidays. These messages were supported with colorful visuals that matched their social presence, reinforcing the brand’s playful identity across channels.

As a result, SMS quickly became one of their highest-performing marketing channels. Personalized messages drove strong engagement and timely campaigns helped convert last-minute shoppers. The brand also used Attentive’s list growth tools to scale quickly, giving them a larger, more engaged mobile audience to build loyalty and drive repeat orders.

Key results:

• 39x overall ROI from SMS
• 151% subscriber growth in three months
• 28% average CTR on welcome messages

If you’re used to going to a retail store often, you love that feel of the brand experience, and you have a close bond with the brand. So we really wanted to have that same feeling online for our customers who aren’t used to placing their orders online.
-  Brittany Attride, Digital Marketing Manager, Baked by Melissa

Nadine Merabi: Creating a premium, high-performing SMS program across markets

Nadine Merabi, a UK-based luxury fashion brand, wanted SMS to match the high-touch experience they deliver across every other customer interaction. As they expanded internationally, they needed a partner who could support their goals for compliant growth, deeper personalization, and strong retention. SMS had to be more than just another marketing channel—it needed to feel exclusive and valuable to their most loyal customers.

After launching SMS with Attentive, the team focused on building a high-quality subscriber list using engaging, on-brand sign-up units. They introduced conversational welcome journeys to gather shopper preferences and launched campaigns tailored to purchase history, product views, and loyalty tiers. They also ran personalized restock alerts, price drop messages, and early access campaigns, which helped drive conversions with a strong sense of urgency.

As their program matured, Nadine Merabi implemented AI Pro to further optimize timing and targeting. Identity AI helped them recognize high-value subscribers and send more messages tied to individual behavior. Audiences AI improved segmentation by expanding reach to likely converters while excluding low-engagement users. With Attentive’s Shopify integration powering automated journeys and performance tracking, the team was able to activate messages based on real-time shopper signals.

Key results:

• 127x journeys ROI
• ‍21% uplift in revenue with AI Pro™
• 19% of SMS subscribers making 2+ purchases

The more data and insights you gather, the better you understand your audience and refine your strategy. If SMS is a new channel, focus on building your subscriber base and growing detailed audience profiles. The more you learn, the stronger your results will be.
-  Samantha McCreight, Senior Acquisition Manager, Nadine Merabi

Designstuff: Elevating engagement with two-way, personalized SMS

Designstuff, an Australian homeware and lifestyle brand with a Scandinavian touch, set out to grow a high-impact mobile channel without adding complexity to their lean team’s workflow. They needed a platform that could scale with them, personalize messaging at every stage of the customer journey, and reflect the thoughtful aesthetic of their brand.

With Attentive, Designstuff launched a SMS experience that felt true to their voice. Subscriber growth accelerated thanks to intuitive opt-in flows, which led to a consistent 12% month-over-month increase in list size. The team introduced Two-Way Journeys in their welcome series to collect preferences, enabling segmentation by product interest from the start. Campaigns and journeys were designed around behavior, including purchase history, recent site activity, and time since last engagement. A/B testing helped the team refine their tone, using friendly, brand-forward language and even incorporating Danish phrases to build identity and reduce unsubscribes.

As the program matured, Designstuff activated Attentive AI Pro to further optimize targeting and timing. Identity AI and Audiences AI helped expand reach to likely converts while excluding disengaged subscribers, and Send Time AI improved message delivery based on individual engagement patterns. With this new foundation, SMS became one of the brand’s highest-performing channels for both acquisition and lifetime value.

Key results:

• 12% average increase in subscribers month-on-month
• 21% of SMS subscribers placing more than one order
• 22% uplift in revenue with AI Pro

With Attentive, we've seen our SMS subscriber list flourish. The growth rate has been phenomenal, with a consistent 12% increase month over month. Their compliant two-tap sign-up process has been instrumental in this success, making it easier than ever for our customers to opt in.
-  Matthew Harrison, Content and Campaign Specialist, Designstuff

The INKEY List: Engaging mobile-first shoppers with personalized SMS journeys

The INKEY List, a UK-based skincare brand built on ingredient transparency and education, needed a way to engage its Gen Z and millennial audience in a more personal, mobile-first way. With many shoppers already browsing on their phones, SMS was the natural next step—but the brand also wanted a partner who could help them scale quickly in the UK and beyond.

With Attentive, The INKEY List launched their UK SMS program in just two weeks. The team used sign-up units across their site to grow a healthy list and followed up with behavior-based triggered messages. Journeys like cart abandonment, price drop, and post-purchase education created value at every touchpoint, while product quiz data and loyalty profiles were used to send even more personalized recommendations. These efforts allowed the brand to guide new shoppers toward their first purchase and support returning customers with helpful tips, usage advice, and product pairings.

SMS soon became a major revenue driver, complementing the brand’s email program without cannibalizing results. With high-performing journeys and unified integrations across their tech stack, The INKEY List expanded their SMS success across the US, Canada, and Australia.

Key results:

• 26x total UK SMS program ROI
• 36% average UK SMS CVR for triggered journeys
• 80% of total SMS-attributable revenue comes from triggered journeys

We chose Attentive because we knew they were the leading player in the SMS market, worked with all of our integrations, and had highly effective list growth tools. We were able to launch within two weeks and SMS has driven incremental revenue quickly and didn't take away from other retention channels. Many mobile-first consumers prefer to hear from brands via SMS, so it's a great alternative to just being reliant on email.
-  Georgie Little, Head of Retention and Loyalty, The INKEY List

Astrid & Miyu: Driving repeat purchases through curated SMS experiences

Astrid & Miyu, a London-based jewelry brand known for its modern, sentiment-driven pieces, wanted a direct, personal way to connect with mobile-first shoppers. With a lean team and no prior SMS experience, they needed a partner that could provide both guidance and ease of execution. Their goals were clear: build a high-performing SMS program that would drive incremental revenue and extend their customer experience across online and in-store touchpoints.

With Attentive, they launched SMS in the UK and quickly built a strong foundation with browse abandonment, back-in-stock, and welcome journeys. Using Attentive’s segmentation tools, they created personalized campaigns based on browsing behavior, loyalty program activity, and purchase history. Their team also ran A/B tests to validate impact and measure lift. One experiment showed that SMS subscribers spent 60% more than non-subscribers, helping prove the channel’s incremental value early on.

As the program matured, Astrid & Miyu began collecting zero-party data through Two-Way Journeys. These insights fueled highly personalized experiences and helped future-proof their strategy. They also integrated SMS with their loyalty program to trigger campaigns tied to points and rewards, and used location data to drive in-store visits for events and piercing appointments.

Key results:

• 33x total SMS program ROI
• 20% of SMS subscribers have made 2+ purchases
• 60% more spent by SMS subscribers

As a brand, we’re keen on innovation and taking on new channels as quickly as possible. Marketers in the UK are seeing SMS become this place where shoppers know they're going to get the most convenient, curated, and reliable experience. We wanted to be one of the first brands in the UK to use SMS because, otherwise, we would get left behind.
-  Lucy Kemish, Senior Global CRM Manager, Astrid & Miyu

These eight women-owned brands are rewriting the rules of customer engagement—not by doing more, but by doing it smarter. Whether it’s scaling personalization with AI, turning first-time shoppers into loyal fans, or connecting digital and in-person experiences, each brand is using SMS to build meaningful relationships that drive real results. Their stories prove that when strategy and creativity meet the right technology, there’s no limit to what a brand can achieve. As these teams continue to lead the way in their categories, one thing is clear: SMS is no longer just a nice-to-have. It’s a core driver of growth, loyalty, and innovation.