📜 1. Legal Requirements for Text Messaging
Law in U.S. and Canada:
To send marketing messages, businesses must have express written consent from customers.
✔️ What qualifies:
Customer enters their own phone number
Customer confirms they agree to receive marketing texts
Consent includes visible legal language at the point of entry
❌ What doesn't qualify:
Verbal consent (e.g., telling a cashier their number)
A cashier entering the number manually
Consent through fields like email/mail preferences in Lightspeed (text is excluded)
💬 2. What Is a Marketing Message?
A marketing message is any communication where the business is:
Asking a customer to buy something
Promoting a sale or event
Encouraging any kind of engagement or action
Examples:
“Join our loyalty program”
“Come shop our new collection”
“Will you opt into our text program?” ← This itself is a marketing message
⚠️ Informational messages (like “Your order is ready”) do not require the same opt-in, but OneShop treats all messages as marketing to remain compliant.
🛠️ 3. How to Collect Legal Opt-Ins in OneShop
✅ Option 1: OneShop Sign-Up Link
Provided by OneShop (formatted as
yourstore.oneshop.com/sign-up)Customers enter their number and agree to terms
Embed in:
Email campaigns
QR codes in-store
Social media posts
✅ Option 2: Customer-Facing Tablet
Best and most reliable method
Customers enter their phone number during check-in
Built-in legal consent language
Seamless experience tied into loyalty and CRM
🔍 4. Why Lightspeed Opt-In Fields Don’t Count
Lightspeed’s “Consent” checkbox does not include text messaging
Text is not listed among mail/call/email options
Only staff can click the consent box → not “written consent” by law
OneShop ignores these fields for opt-in verification
🧠 Best Practices
Always use OneShop’s sign-up tools for text messaging consent
Train staff to encourage opt-ins via tablet, not by manual entry
Offer incentives like “$5 off next purchase” to encourage opt-ins
Review your current opt-in collection methods to ensure legal compliance