14 Ways to Use SMS Reminders to Drive Last-Minute Sales (With Examples)

What’s the perfect way to get your timely message read in a hurry? Well SMS & voice broadcasting of course. In this post we will suggest to you several ways to use text or voice messaging to drive last minute sales, but first let’s look at a real world example.

The Ebay Example

Urgency and scarcity. It’s one of the most powerful persuasion and influence secrets for getting people to act and the great folks at eBay are masters at it.

The other day I bid on some amazing 1960’s VW Beetle Ads and a few hours before it was set to end, I got this email…

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Then after I clicked the link and saw this…

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It’s asking me to sign up to receive a SMS alert 15 minutes before the auction ends. (That was eBay’s flow when this post was first written; check eBay’s current notification settings for today’s options.)

GENIUS!

Now, they already send you an email, but an email can easily sit unread until the auction is over. So what’s an even better way to let you know to act now?

A text message reminder.

It’s a smart strategy: the reminder arrives on the device people carry with them, right when acting still matters.

Understanding the Power of SMS Marketing

SMS marketing involves sending promotional or informative text messages to your customers. These messages can share exclusive offers, announce new products, or engage with customers in a personal way. The key advantage of SMS marketing is its immediacy: a text lands on the phone people carry all day, which makes it a natural fit for time-sensitive campaigns. Americans exchanged nearly 2.2 trillion SMS and MMS messages in 2024 (CTIA 2025 Annual Survey).

Why SMS Marketing Works for Boosting Sales?

SMS marketing is effective because it reaches customers directly on their mobile phones. Texts are short and easy to act on, so it’s an excellent way to capture attention and boost sales.

The Benefits of SMS for Different Business Models

Whether you're running an eCommerce store or a service-based business, SMS marketing can work for you. It helps drive ecommerce sales, increases customer engagement, and even supports B2B communication.

Building and Growing Your SMS Subscriber List

A strong SMS marketing list is the foundation of successful SMS campaigns. To grow your list, focus on opt-in strategies. Encourage customers to join your SMS marketing list by offering something valuable, such as a discount or exclusive content. You can gather phone numbers through web forms, social media platforms, and in-store sign-ups. The more people you have on your list, the more potential sales you can generate.

Creating SMS Campaigns That Drive Sales

Different types of SMS campaigns can help you boost sales in various ways. Time-sensitive promotions and flash sales are a great way to create a sense of urgency and prompt quick action from your customers. Abandoned cart messages are another effective strategy. By reminding customers of items left in their shopping cart, you can recover lost revenue and increase your conversion rates. Personalized product recommendations also work well. Sending targeted messages based on past purchases or browsing behavior can lead to more sales.

Integrating SMS with Other Marketing Channels

For a well-rounded marketing strategy, integrate SMS with your other marketing efforts. Combining SMS with email marketing can amplify your message. For example, after sending an email about a new product, follow up with an SMS to remind customers to check it out. Social media and SMS can also work together. Promote your social media campaigns through SMS, encouraging customers to engage with your brand on multiple platforms.

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14 Ways to Use SMS Reminders and Notifications to Drive Sales

Many businesses have time-sensitive offers. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the entertainment, sports, retail or even services industries; there is an offer you have that can benefit from last-minute sales.

Here is a list of situations that are perfect for using SMS to drive last-minute sales.

1. Product Launch Closing
2. Last Minute Webinar Notifications
3. Micro Sales
4. Inventory Closeout
5. Crowdfunding Campaigns
6. Event Ticket Sales
7. Price Hike Notification
8. Post Webinar Sales
9. Free Trial Ending
10. Early Bird Sale
11. Holiday Promotions
12. Renewal Notification
13. Daily Deal Sites
14. Last-Minute Openings and Cancellations

1. Product Launch Closing

Build a mobile list during your initial product launch that way if you are offering any bonuses or last minute cross sells you can alert the interested parties on your list. To make your list extremely qualified offer your text to join option during your product launch webinars. Chances are if they signed up to your email list, then attended a webinar they are more likely to take action and buy your product.

2. Last Minute Webinar / Teleseminar Notifications

Many customers send out last minute reminders about their webinar or teleseminar events to drive up attendance and boy does it work! More attendees mean more interested buyers who took the time to understand your offer. A simple, teeny tiny text message an hour before you go live is often all it takes. For more ideas, see our webinar promotion best practices.

3. Micro Sales

Have a sale going that’s closing soon or one day only? Perfect for EOM quotas or maybe you want to increase sales during slow period of the day. Restaurants often run this kind of happy-hour or slow-hours promo. Just send out a quick text promo notification to your registered subscribers a few hours before it closes.

Here’s an older example of how Grab, a ride-hailing app in Southeast Asia, used text to drive sales.

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They used a SMS message to drive sales during off-peak hours, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., with the promo code MIDDAY. The promo was good for one day only making this campaign extremely driven by time and immediately measurable. Any app or store with a quiet part of the day can copy this pattern.

4. Inventory Closeout

Many businesses carry product only to have to put it on sale in anticipation to make room for more inventory. This happens with electronics, food, furniture, household goods, clothing especially seasonal items, like Christmas decorations. So building a mobile list when a customer purchases or registers a product is a great idea. Then, when the time is right, a text message can move your closeout stock.

Example: Some states only allow sales of certain products, such as consumer fireworks, during set periods. A fireworks stand company could build a SMS list to push out a last minute discount to move inventory on the final day they can sell.

5. Crowdfunding Campaigns

If ever there was time sensitive offer it’s the countdown to the end of your crowdfunding campaign. By building a mobile list you can send an exclusive SMS offer or a last minute call to action just hours before the end of your campaigns. Below is a faux example of what a text like this could look like.

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*If you are using text to drive traffic to a url be sure the site is mobile optimized.

Here is an example of a last-minute email from the crowdfunded lending non-profit Kiva.org

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Wouldn’t SMS reminder to donate also be a great way to follow up with their list of potential donors?

6. Event Ticket Sales

Many event marketers offer presales to gauge interest and predict attendance numbers to conferences, sporting events, concerts, festivals, movies and more. The pre-sale ticket is a limited time offer therefore can benefit from SMS & voice broadcasts to remind your subscribers that it is ending soon.

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The Detroit Red Wings Hockey Team made the most of SMS (in the example below, from when this post was first written) not only on ticket sales but also offering text promos for food, drinks and gear while in the stadium. Look at the list of text clubs they offer. Notice how they segmented their mobile lists by using different keywords to give the most targeted offers to their subscribers.

For more ways to fill seats, see how to increase event attendance.

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7. Price Hike Notification

Tying into the concept of the Product launch Close or end of a Ticket Pre-sale is a Price Hike notification. This should be used within the message anytime you are going to raise the price of your product or event entrance. It creates scarcity and causes people to take action or face a higher price later. Only send it when the increase is real and dated: the FTC lists false limited-time messages and fake countdowns among manipulative "dark patterns".

8. Post Webinar Sales

You have used SMS to drive more attendance to webinars but you should also use it to close the sale. If you send a SMS reminders with a one time offer to mobile only subscribers you can reinvigorate a sense of urgency that may have lapsed after the event. Remember to sweeten the deal with an addition bonus for people who take action that day or within a few hours.

9. Free Trial Ending Alert

If you use a Free Trial period in your service product start you probably send an email notifying your prospect of the trial close. But why not also follow up with a SMS reminder? By collecting mobile numbers during registration process and offering a mobile opt-in you can remind your prospects that their Free Trial period is ending and what your value is, you can also offer to lock in a special price if they buy now. For products that are digital in nature and require no cost to produce (such as a course or game) this tactic can work well. Sending an email, SMS and voice broadcast the day of the trial ending will get your message heard loud and clear (prerecorded voice messages to cell phones need the same written consent as marketing texts).

Here is an example of a product email from one of our integration partners, Zapier.com

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10. Early Bird Sale

Another strong tactic is to offer early adopters a special incentive to take action by a certain day in order to secure a ridiculously reduced price. This can be used in the critical start of a product launch, fundraiser or event. Once again the meek but mighty SMS can get you top of mind when you need it most.

11. Holiday Promotions

Everyone looks forward to Black Friday sales or Cyber Monday Deals. If you offer a mobile list when your shoppers buy a product, you can drive more sales on these days with exclusive offers. You can also use SMS messages to send a special offer for a specific item if inventory of a product hasn’t been moving well.

Big platforms have long pushed timely holiday notifications too. The screenshot below, from the 2015 holiday season, shows mobile alerts from Google Now and an airline app. For a full holiday plan, see how to maximize Black Friday and Cyber Monday with text message updates.

12. Renewal Notifications

Many times when a subscription is going to end, there is no automatic renewal. This is often the case for things like website access, domain names, hosting, and SAAS products. If you build a mobile list you can increase renewals by sending a SMS reminder that the user’s subscription is ending.

Here’s an example…

Let’s say you have a membership site for model planes and a 1 year subscription is $97 annually. Say sending 1,000 SMS messages costs you $50 (an example figure, not a quoted price) and your conversion rate is a meager 1.5%. Your return will look like this:

0.015 x 1,000 = 15 renewals. 15 x $97 = $1,455 in revenue. That is about 29 times the $50 you spent, a 2,810% return after the cost.

A single renewal ($97) already covers the $50 cost and nearly doubles it. I don’t know about you but I like those odds.

13. Daily Deal Sites (Groupon, LivingSocial)

Building a SMS list when you are collecting an email from people who want deals should be a no brainer. The key is to limit your text messaging to about once a week. Reserve it for a killer deal. If you build that SMS list, you can charge a premium for those messages to advertiser because the open rate is so high.

Look, here is a list** of companies using text to drive these last minute sales. Are there any companies here that you wouldn’t mind getting a timely SMS promo from?

But here is the real question…

“If all these companies are using SMS to drive last minute sales why aren’t you?”

Grocery, pharmacy and home goods.

• Costco: Text COSTCO to 71034.
• Target: Text COUPONS to 827438.
• Family Dollar: Text VALUE to 28767.
• Meijer: Enter your mobile number online.
• Home Depot: Enter your mobile number online.
• Bed, Bath and Beyond: Text OFFER1 to 239663 or enter your mobile number online.
• IKEA: Enter your mobile number online.
• Walgreens: Enter your mobile number online.
• Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy: Text GROCERY to 43101.
• Earthfare Healthy Supermarket: Text EAT to 71700.
• Hy-Vee: Enter your mobile number online.
• Sherwin Williams: Text your zip code to 72468.

Clothes, Makeup & Accessories

• Victoria’s Secret PINK: Enter your mobile number with email signup.
• MAC Cosmetics: Enter your mobile number online.
• Macy’s: Text JOIN to 62297.
• Kohl’s: Text SAVE to 56457.
• American Eagle Outfitters: Text JOIN to 32453 or enter your mobile number online.
• Nordstrom: You must sign up via a salesperson while in-store (ask for the NEXT app).
• Saks Fifth Avenue: Enter your mobile number online.
• JCPenney: Text JOIN to 527365.
• Lord and Taylor: Text SALE to 95555.
• Aeropostale / P.S. from Aeropostale: Text JOIN to 237687 / Text JOIN to 772376.
• Bloomingdale’s: Text JOIN to 25666 or enter your mobile number online.
• Babies R Us & Toys R Us: Enter your mobile number for both online.
• Avenue: Text AVE to 40679.
• Charlotte Russe: Text CR to 78953.
• Dress Barn: Text JOIN to 21226 or enter your mobile number online.
• Men’s Wearhouse: Text STYLE to 41680.
• New York & Company: Text WEB to 697895.
• Stages Stores: Enter your mobile number online.
• Wet Seal: Text WETSEAL to 77053.
• Express: Text ROCKS to 397737.

Shoes

• Payless: Text PAYLESS to 747474.
• Famous Footwear: Enter your mobile number with email signup.
• Nine West: Text NINEWEST to 25179.

Fast Food & Eateries

• Arby’s: Enter your mobile number online.
• Subway: Enter your mobile number online.
• Jamba Juice: Enter your mobile number online.
• Ruby Tuesday: Enter your mobile number online.
• Dominos: Enter your mobile number online.
• Jack In The Box: Enter your mobile number online.
• Outback Steakhouse: Enter your mobile number online.
• Applebee’s: Text JOIN to 22337.
• Baskin–Robbins: Text OFFER to 31310.
• Burger King: Text BKALERTS to 287437.
• Caribou Coffee: Text CARIBOU to 65017.
• Papa John’s Pizza: Text START to 47272.
• Pizza Hut: Enter your mobile number online.

Crafts & Gifts

• Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts: Text BEADS to 56266.
• Kirkland’s: Text SAVE to 572837.
• Things Remembered: Text JOIN to 874438.

Office Supplies

• Office Depot and Office Max: Text OFFER to 33768.
• Staples: Text STAPLES to 555444.

Movies & Games

• Redbox: Text SIGNUP to 727272.
• AMC Theaters: Text AMC to 242424.

**This list was originally sourced from The Krazy Coupon Lady blog (the original article is no longer online).

14. Last-Minute Openings and Cancellations

Salons, clinics, fitness studios, restaurants and repair services lose money on every empty slot. When someone cancels, text a short list of customers who asked to hear about openings (a waitlist), and give the slot to the first person who replies. Keep it to one clear offer and a fast way to say yes:

Send it right after the cancellation, reply to the winner, and send a quick "it’s taken" note to anyone who answers late. Pair it with automated text message reminders so fewer slots open up in the first place.

How to Write a Last-Minute Sale Text (and When to Send It)

Whichever of the ways above you use, a good last-minute text has the same five parts.

When to send it

There is no published study that sets one best time for a last-minute sale text, so treat this as common practice, not a rule: many senders text once when the offer starts and once a few hours before it ends, or about an hour before a live event. Two limits do apply. Federal rules bar telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient’s local time (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)), and Florida and Oklahoma set an 8 p.m. cutoff and a limit of three solicitation calls on the same subject in 24 hours (Fla. Stat. 501.616, Oklahoma HB 3168). A closing-tonight text is safer in the afternoon than at 10 p.m.

Keep the urgency real

Urgency works because it is true. The FTC’s staff report on dark patterns lists a "baseless countdown timer" (a clock that resets or vanishes when it runs out) and a "false limited time message" (an offer said to end soon without a real deadline) as manipulative designs (FTC, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light, 2022). If the sale ends tonight, end it tonight; if you extend it, say so honestly.

Enhancing Customer Retention with SMS

SMS marketing isn’t just about acquiring new customers; it’s also great for keeping your existing customers engaged. Loyalty programs and VIP offers sent via SMS can reward your best customers and encourage repeat business. Post-purchase follow-ups are another effective use of SMS. After a customer makes a purchase, send a follow-up SMS to ask for feedback or offer customer support. This not only strengthens customer relationships but also builds trust in your brand.

Measuring and Optimizing Your SMS Campaigns

Tracking the success of your SMS campaigns is essential for ongoing improvement. Key metrics to monitor include open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. These metrics will help you gauge the effectiveness of your SMS marketing strategies. To further optimize your campaigns, consider A/B testing different versions of your SMS messages. This will help you determine what resonates best with your audience, allowing you to refine your approach over time.

Legal Considerations and Best Practices for SMS Marketing

To ensure that your SMS campaigns are both effective and compliant, it’s important to follow opt-in guidelines. Always get consent before sending SMS messages and provide easy opt-out options for customers. This not only keeps you compliant with regulations but also builds trust with your customers. Carrier guidelines from CTIA ask senders to tell people how to opt out, and every promotional SMS should include clear instructions on how to opt out of future messages to maintain a positive brand image.

What changed: on September 30, 2026 the FCC adopted new revocation rules (FCC 26-67) that let consumers stop specific categories of robocalls and texts; they take effect after Federal Register publication (FCC news release). For a full checklist, see our SMS compliance checklist.

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The Bottom Line

Any promotion that is date, countdown or time based creates a sense of urgency to buy. But people get busy and they forget. If you are running a sale or having an event coming up, then send out a last-minute notification text message alerting them that it’s closing soon. If you aren’t using SMS as a part of your marketing mix you are losing out.

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I hope you enjoyed the post and drop me a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to increase sales with SMS marketing?

To increase sales with SMS marketing, focus on creating personalized SMS that resonates with your target audience. Use SMS marketing campaigns to send exclusive offers, early access promotions, and reminders to loyal customers. Integrate SMS marketing with other marketing channels like email marketing and social media to amplify your reach. Keep your marketing messages concise, and include a clear call to action to create a sense of urgency.

Is SMS marketing legal?

Yes, SMS marketing is legal, but it is governed by strict regulations. In the US, marketing texts sent with an autodialer need the recipient’s prior express written consent, opt-out requests such as STOP must be honored within 10 business days, and solicitations are limited to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (47 CFR 64.1200). These rules come from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); other countries have their own. Always use a compliant SMS marketing strategy to avoid fines and legal issues.

Does SMS marketing still work?

Yes, SMS marketing still works well for time-sensitive offers. With immediate delivery to the phone people carry, SMS marketing campaigns can effectively reach customers on their mobile phones. It’s an excellent complement to other marketing channels like email marketing and social media platforms, offering a direct and personal way to communicate. By sending personalized messages, businesses can engage their audience and drive higher conversion rates.

Is SMS marketing worth it?

SMS marketing is worth it for businesses looking to directly engage their customers. It can pay off quickly when the offer is timely, especially when combined with other marketing strategies. SMS marketing software allows businesses to send targeted marketing messages that are concise and timely, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty. Given the effectiveness of SMS marketing campaigns in reaching potential customers quickly, it remains a valuable part of any marketing strategy.

How do you use SMS to fill last-minute openings?

Keep a waitlist of customers who opted in to hear about openings. When a slot frees up, text them right away with the time, the service and "Reply YES to book", and give it to the first reply. See way 14 for an example.

When should you send a last-minute sale text?

A few hours before the offer ends, or about an hour before a live event, is common practice; there is no study that sets one best time. Stay inside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient’s time zone (8 p.m. in Florida and Oklahoma).

How do you send flash sale text alerts without spamming?

Text only people who opted in, tell them at sign-up how often you will text, save texts for real deadlines, keep each message short with one link or code, and include opt-out instructions. Honor STOP right away.

Can I text customers about a sale without their consent?

Generally no. Promotional texts need express written consent under carrier guidelines, and marketing texts sent with an autodialer need prior express written consent under FCC rules. Having a customer’s number from a purchase is not the same as consent to marketing texts.

Do voice calls work for last-minute promotions?

A short prerecorded voice message or a ringless voicemail can back up a text for a big deadline, but both count as calls under the TCPA: prerecorded marketing calls to cell phones need prior express written consent, and the FCC ruled in 2022 that ringless voicemail needs consent too.