do your clients actually save your phone number?

We noticed something interesting with our local shop last month.

Whenever we texted clients from our regular local mobile number, a surprisingly large chunk of them actually saved us in their phone as a contact. When they needed to reorder or ask a quick question, they just opened their messages and texted us directly, almost like texting a friend or neighbor.

We used to think customers only wanted formal emails, but having an actual 10-digit mobile number seems to build a weird level of trust that corporate shortcodes just can't match.

For those running local businesses, do you actively encourage clients to save your number, or do you just let them text back whenever? Curious if anyone else has noticed this habit.