Win-back texts for lapsed customers: sequences and consent

A win-back sequence is two or three short texts to a customer who has gone quiet: a personal check-in, one follow-up, then a polite close. Check consent before the first text. In the US, consent lasts until the person revokes it, if it covers marketing texts; in Canada, implied consent from a purchase ends two years later.

This guide covers when a customer counts as lapsed, what the evidence says, the consent checks for the US and Canada, ready-to-paste sequences, and how to answer the replies. It is one part of our guide to texting existing customers, which covers onboarding, renewals and reviews. This is not legal advice.

When is a customer lapsed?

A customer is lapsed when they have gone longer than usual without buying, booking or logging in. The right gap depends on how often they normally come back, so set it from your own data. These are starting points, not rules:

Business	Lapsed when	Good first text
Subscription software	They cancelled, or stopped logging in for a month or more	Ask what changed, or show what's new
Home services	No booking a few months after an annual service was due	Offer to book the next visit
Agencies and consultants	The project ended and nothing new started	A plain check-in
Salons, gyms, studios	No visit in twice their usual interval	A booking link and an open slot

Pick one moment per sequence. A customer who cancelled last week and one who last bought three years ago need different texts, and in Canada they have different consent.

Do win-back texts work?

No independent study that we found measures win-back texts on their own. Most published win-back figures come from companies that sell texting tools and don't publish their method, so we leave them out.

The closest independent evidence comes from reminder trials, where a short series beat a single message. In a megastudy of 689,693 pharmacy patients, the best of 22 text programs was "two texts delivered 3 d apart" (PNAS, 2022). That was a flu shot reminder, a different setting from a lapsed customer. Treat the sequences below as practice to test, and measure three numbers per step: replies, opt-outs and customers who come back.

What consent do you need to text a lapsed customer?

Most win-back texts are promotional: they invite someone to buy again. That makes consent the first check. This section summarizes public rules as of October 2026.

United States. Federal rules set no expiry date on consent. What ends it is revocation, which a person can make "by using any reasonable method to clearly express a desire not to receive further calls or text messages" (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)). Consent a customer gave three years ago and never revoked still stands. Three limits apply:

1. It has to cover marketing. Texts that advertise, sent with an autodialer to a mobile number, need "prior express written consent" that "clearly authorizes the seller" to send them (64.1200(a)(2) and (f)(9)). Carrier guidance agrees: promotional texts need written agreement, and an opt-in "should apply only to the campaign(s) and specific Message Sender for which it was intended or obtained" (CTIA, 2023). Consent to order updates or reminders doesn't stretch to a win-back offer.
2. An opt-out is permanent until they opt back in. Anyone who replied STOP, or asked in other words, stays off the list.
3. Old numbers change hands. The FCC's rules give a safe harbor to a caller who checks a number against the reassigned numbers database before contacting it (64.1200(m)). The older your list, the more numbers belong to someone new.

Canada. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) treats express and implied consent differently.

• Express consent doesn't run out. The CRTC's guidance: "Express consent does not expire; however, the recipient has the right to withdraw their consent at any time" (CRTC CASL FAQ, 2026).
• Implied consent from a purchase lasts two years. An existing business relationship covers a purchase or lease "within the two-year period immediately before the day on which the message was sent" (CASL s. 10(10)(a)).
• An inquiry lasts six months. A quote request or application counts "within the six-month period immediately before the day on which the message was sent" (s. 10(10)(e)).
• Subscriptions count from the end. For a subscription, account or similar ongoing relationship, "the period is considered to begin on the day that the subscription, account, loan or other relationship terminates" (s. 10(14)(a)). A customer who cancelled 20 months ago after five years is still inside the window.
• An abandoned cart is not a purchase. The CRTC says it "does not trigger the two-year implied consent period" (CRTC FAQ).

Every commercial text to a Canadian must also identify you and include an unsubscribe mechanism (s. 6(2)). Our CASL guide covers the rest.

Situation	United States	Canada
Agreed in writing to marketing texts, never opted out	Consent stands	Express consent stands
Gave a number at checkout, no marketing consent	Ask for consent first	Implied consent until two years after the purchase
Last bought three years ago, no marketing consent	Ask for consent first	Implied consent has ended
Cancelled a subscription 20 months ago	Depends on the consent they gave	Inside the window: it runs from the cancellation
Asked for a quote eight months ago, never bought	Depends on the consent they gave	Six-month inquiry window has passed
Replied STOP at any point	No more texts	No more texts

Where consent is missing or unclear, ask for text consent at the next natural contact, such as a booking, a renewal or a checkout. Our opt-in language examples show the wording.

How do you build a win-back list?

Five steps keep the list clean:

1. Pull customers by date. Last purchase, last visit or cancellation date, in one column you can filter.
2. Remove opt-outs and unclear consent. Keep a record of where and when each person agreed to texts.
3. For Canada, leave a margin inside the window. CASL measures the window on the day each message is sent, so the last text in the sequence has to fall inside it too. If the sequence runs two weeks, stop at purchases a little under two years old.
4. Add the columns your texts use. First name, last service, product, account owner.
5. Pick one sender. The person who knew the customer is the best name to put on the text.

Win-back text templates

Each text fits in one segment (160 characters) with the fields filled in, before any opt-out line is added; our guide to SMS segments shows how the line changes the count. Swap "Sam" and "Northwind" for your name and business. Put a "no reply yet" check before every follow-up, so nobody gets a nudge after answering.

Cancelled subscription

Text 1, two to four weeks after cancelling:

Hi First name, Sam at Northwind. We've added New feature since you left. Worth a look?

Wait 5 business days. If no reply yet:

Thanks either way. Reply YES and I'll send the details, or I'll leave it here.

Asking why they left

Some customers will tell you what went wrong, which is worth as much as a sale.

Hi First name, Sam at Northwind. What was the main reason you stopped using Product? One line helps a lot.

Wait 4 days. If no reply yet:

No need to reply if you're all set. Thanks for the time you spent with us.

Home services due for a visit

Text 1, when the next service is overdue:

Hi First name, Sam at Northwind. It's been a year since your Last service. Want us to book the next one?

Wait 4 days. If no reply yet:

We have openings next week. Reply with a day that suits and I'll hold it for you.

Wait 5 days. If no reply yet:

I'll leave it here. Text this number any time you need us.

A past client relationship

Hi First name, Sam from Northwind. How have things been at Company since we wrapped up?

Send this one alone. If they reply, the conversation is the sequence.

With an offer

Hi First name, Sam at Northwind. Book your next Service this month and we'll add Offer. Interested?

An offer makes the text clearly promotional. Send it only to customers whose consent covers marketing texts.

How many win-back texts should you send?

Two or three, once per lapse. No study sets the right number for win-back texts, and the reminder trials compared one text with two, not long series. Two habits keep opt-outs low:

• Close the loop. The last text should say you'll stop, and then stop.
• Watch each step. If one text draws more opt-outs than the rest, rewrite it or cut it.

Send inside daytime hours in the customer's time zone. Federal rules bar telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. local time, and some states use 8 p.m. (texting quiet hours).

How should you handle replies?

A reply means a person should answer, from the same number, with the history in front of them.

• "Yes" or a question. Answer it and offer the next step: a booking time, a call or the details.
• "Not interested." Thank them and mark the record, so the next campaign leaves them out.
• "Who is this?" Your name, your business and when they were a customer: "Sam from Northwind. You had a furnace tune-up with us last October."
• A complaint. Offer a call with someone who can fix it. A lapsed customer with a grievance is often the most useful reply you'll get.
• STOP. Nothing beyond the single confirmation, and no more texts.

Where does Textually fit?

Textually runs win-back sequences as multi-step campaigns for teams in the US and Canada. You import customers by CSV or paste, push them to a campaign, and write Text, Wait and Condition steps with any column as a field; waits count days, with an option for business days only. Before a text sends, Textually requires a consent record or a campaign-wide confirmation, and each text carries the registered opt-out line until the person replies. STOP and the other opt-out words stop texts at once, and a reply ends that customer's sequence and lands in one shared inbox. For the rest of the customer journey, see our guide to texting existing customers and pricing, or apply for access.

Questions

How long can you text a past customer in Canada?

With express consent, until they withdraw it. With implied consent from a purchase, for two years from the purchase, or from the day a subscription or account ends (CASL s. 10(10) and 10(14)). An inquiry gives six months.

Does consent to receive texts expire in the US?

Federal rules set no expiry date. Consent lasts until the person revokes it by any reasonable means. It has to cover the kind of text you send: consent to service texts doesn't cover a promotional win-back offer.

Is a win-back text promotional?

Usually, yes. A text that invites someone to buy again, especially with an offer, is marketing. A plain question about why they left is closer to service, but treat win-back sequences as promotional when you check consent.

Can I text customers who gave their number at checkout?

In Canada, the purchase gives implied consent for two years. In the US, a number given at checkout doesn't by itself give written consent to marketing texts. Ask at checkout, with wording that covers marketing texts.

How many win-back texts should I send?

Two or three, once, with waits of a few days between them and a closing text that says you'll stop. Measure replies, opt-outs and returning customers for each step.

What should a win-back text say?

Your name, your business and one reason to reply: something new since they left, a booking that's due, or a question about why they stopped. Keep it to one segment and one question.