Email Opt-In at Checkout
Checkout is a natural moment to invite guests to join a restaurant’s email list. In Canada, commercial emails need consent under CASL, and in Québec the private-sector privacy law, as amended by Law 25, adds rules on how consent is requested and withdrawn. The opt-in must be optional, unchecked, in plain language and separate from the receipt request.
Make consent explicit
- Use an unchecked, optional checkbox
- Say what the guest will receive and from which restaurant
- Keep the receipt request separate from marketing consent: a receipt email is a service contact, not a subscription
- Offer the wording in English and French
- Leaving the box unchecked on a later payment neither creates consent nor cancels an existing subscription
Write a clear invitation
One short sentence works best, for example: “Get news and offers from this restaurant by email. You can unsubscribe at any time.” Offer it in English and French.
What CASL and Law 25 each add
CASL, the federal anti-spam law, requires consent before you send commercial electronic messages, and a simple way to unsubscribe that works without an account. The CRTC asks that the mechanism keep working for at least 60 days after a message and that requests be processed without delay, and no later than ten business days.
In Québec, the private-sector privacy law, as amended by Law 25, adds requirements where it applies: the guest must be informed of the right to withdraw, and you must stop using their information for prospecting once they do. The Commission d’accès à l’information publishes the criteria for valid consent.
OpenRate gives you the tools, but the content of your messages, how you identify your restaurant in them and your overall compliance remain your responsibility. This guide is not legal advice: have a lawyer review your wording.
How withdrawal works in OpenRate
- In Customers, filter by Subscribed and export the marketing CSV: each row includes an unsubscribe link specific to that guest and your restaurant
- Put that link in every email you send to the guest
- The guest opens the link, sees your restaurant’s name and confirms with one button: no account and no need to type the address again
- Opening the link does not unsubscribe anyone by itself, so mail scanners cannot cancel a subscription by mistake
- Withdrawal applies to your establishment only, never to other restaurants, and is recorded with its date
- Receipts and payment records are kept; only the marketing consent is withdrawn
- A guest can subscribe again only by ticking the box again at a later checkout
Lists you already exported
An exported file cannot be recalled. Before each send, export the Subscribed list again and remove any address that has withdrawn since your last export. Also act on requests that reach you another way, such as a reply, a call or a message to the restaurant.
OpenRate does not send marketing campaigns for you today: you send from your own email tool. Do not publish the CSV or share unsubscribe links between recipients, since each link works as a key for one guest.
What to send
- New menus and seasonal dishes
- Events and private dining
- Occasional offers for returning guests