Here’s how Daylight Saving Time can affect your SMS campaigns
Where you send from and where you send to matters if your SMS campaigns are time-sensitive. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is in effect for six months every year, which will likely affect when some of your recipients receive your SMS messages.
Australia
Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia don’t observe DST, making the time zones a bit awkward every year. For example, NSW is ahead of Queensland by one hour from October to April, even though they’re on the same longitude.
Source - | States & Territories that observe DST | States & Territories that don't observe DST |
| Australian Capital Territory | Northern Territory |
| New South Wales | Queensland |
| South Australia | Western Australia |
| Tasmania | |
| Victoria |
New Zealand
All regions in New Zealand observe DST between the end of September to April. If there are people on your list that reside in New Zealand, make sure to double check the local time before sending.
United Kingdom
UK observes DST between the end of March and end of October. Like New Zealand, ensure that your date and time is set correctly for any recipients residing in the UK.
Canada
Saskatchewan and several small regions in other territories and provinces don’t observe DST, which is in effect between November and March. Unless you are sending to recipients who live in Saskatchewan, any concern should be negligible.
Source - USA
Only two states don’t observe DST: Arizona and Hawaii. Like Canada, DST is in effect between November and March every year.
Source - Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore
All three countries don’t observe DST. Again, be wary of the time difference—depending on the time of year.
Overall, what does this mean for me?
Whether or not your country, state, region, province, or territory observes DST, it’s important to keep these things in mind:
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Timezone differences. For example, if you schedule an SMS campaign to send at 12:00 pm Sydney time between October and April, any recipients in Queensland will get them at 11:00 am. DST are not made equal. Different countries have different start and end dates.
If your campaigns are time-sensitive, then you have a couple of options to help you avoid this problem. First, you can separate your list based on geographic location. Second, you can adjust the timezone setting when you compose a campaign.
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Missed appointments. People miss appointments during the week that DST begins and ends. For appointment-based businesses (ie. dentists, chiropractors, etc.), send an SMS reminder to let them know of the time adjustment.
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Increased consumer spending. Shoppers are more likely to shop during the month that DST begins. Take advantage of this opportunity to send an SMS flash sale to help boost your bottom line.
Check out our article about DST if you’re curious about how it exactly affects koalas, appointments, and shopping behaviour.
Need help?
Need help adjusting your SMS campaigns around the DST? Feel free to get in touch with us by visiting our support portal, clicking on the live chat on the bottom right, or sending us an email.
