Bring customers in when your shop is quiet
Send one instant notification to your regulars when you have a deal, surplus stock, or last-minute availability, and bring customers in fast.
Takes 2 minutes. No credit card required.
- No monthly fees
- Zero commission
- Credits never expire
- Setup in 60 seconds
- Try it free with 10 instant alerts
One tool. Two wins.
You clear stock and drive footfall. Your regulars never miss a fresh drop or last-minute deal. Everyone wins.
"This is your own instant alert button. When you have fresh items or a last-minute deal to sell, you send one quick alert to your regulars, and they come straight to your door to buy it."
"Want to know the moment we have fresh items or special offers? Scan here to get a quick heads-up on your phone whenever we have something great available."
Up and running in 60 seconds.
No technical experience required. Built to save you time, not consume it.
-
Get Your QR Code
Enter your shop details. We'll email you a one-click link straight away — no password, no account to manage.
-
Display It
Print your QR code and place it on your counter, in your window, or at the till.
-
Build Your List
Customers scan and enter their email. Your subscriber list grows with every single scan.
-
Send Alerts
Fresh drop or surplus stock? Type your offer and press Send. Your regulars are notified immediately.
Your QR code — ready to print in minutes
A high-contrast, black-on-white QR code optimised for scanning in any lighting condition. Download it and print it — stick it on the counter, the till, the window, or a chalkboard. No specialist equipment needed.
The right tool for this specific job.
Social media, email marketing, and food-waste apps all have their place. But none of them was built to send an urgent, same-day deal to the regulars who already love your shop.
| ⚡ FlashAlert | Social Media | Email Marketing (e.g. Mailchimp) |
Food Waste Apps (e.g. Too Good To Go) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customers expect and want these messages | ✓They scanned your QR and asked for them | ✗They followed for content, not deals | DependsOften signed up ages ago and forgotten why | ✗Browsing for bargains, not your regulars |
| Reaches every subscriber, every time | ✓No algorithm — inbox every time | ✗Typically 5% of followers see each post | ✓Inbox delivery, no algorithm | N/ACustomers browse the app — you don't alert them |
| Built for same-day urgency | ✓Designed for this exact job | ✗Posts get buried before customers act | ✗Campaigns need planning; email is not urgent | ✓But only for mystery bags, not specific deals |
| You set your own price | ✓Your price. Your margins. | ✓ | ✓ | ✗Platform sets the mystery bag price |
| Zero commission on sales | ✓Flat per-broadcast fee only | ✓ | ✓ | ✗Commission taken on every sale |
| You own the customer list | ✓Your subscribers. We never touch them. | ✗Platform owns your audience | ✓Your list, in your account | ✗Customers belong to the platform |
| Setup in under 5 minutes | ✓Print a QR code. Done. | Sort ofAccount is quick; building a useful following takes months | ✗Templates, lists, and campaigns take real time | ✗Application, approval, and onboarding process |
| No technical skill needed | ✓If you can send a text, you can send an alert | Sort ofSimple to post; effective content takes effort | ✗Segmentation, scheduling, and design all take skill | ✓Simple app interface |
A fair comparison: social media, email marketing, and food-waste apps all do their respective jobs well. The question is whether any of them were designed to send an urgent, same-day deal to your own regulars — at your price, with no commission, and with zero technical effort. That specific job is what FlashAlert is built for.
Pay only for the alerts you send. Nothing else.
Each credit covers one broadcast to your entire subscriber list — whether you have 10 subscribers or 10,000, it's still one credit. No monthly subscription. No commission on what you sell.
🎁 10 free broadcasts when you sign up
- One broadcast to all subscribers = one credit
- Credits never expire
- No monthly fees
- No contracts
- Zero commission on sales
Starter
£10
Send 10 broadcasts to your entire subscriber list.
£1.00 per broadcast — however many subscribers you have
- 10 alerts included
- Your unique QR code
- Unlimited subscribers
- One-click link dashboard
- Credits never expire
Growth
£20
Send 25 broadcasts to your entire subscriber list.
80p per broadcast — save 20%
- 25 alerts included
- Your unique QR code
- Unlimited subscribers
- One-click link dashboard
- Credits never expire
Pro
£40
Send 60 broadcasts to your entire subscriber list.
Under 67p per broadcast — best rate
- 60 alerts included
- Your unique QR code
- Unlimited subscribers
- One-click link dashboard
- Credits never expire
Credits never expire — top up at your own pace. All purchases are non-refundable.
Your list belongs to you. Full stop.
Customers subscribe directly to your shop — not to a shared platform, not to a competitor's network, and not to us. We never sell, rent, share, or monetise your customer data. Ever. The list is yours. We are only the pipe.
GDPR compliance is handled for you. Every alert we send automatically includes a one-click unsubscribe link. We manage all the consent records, suppression lists, and audit trails on your behalf — keeping your shop fully compliant without any extra paperwork on your end.
Questions we get asked a lot.
Everything you need to know before you start.
Getting started
How quickly can I start collecting subscribers?
Most shops are collecting subscribers within 60 seconds of signing up. Enter your shop details, receive a one-click link by email, open your dashboard, download your QR code, print it, and place it at the till. Every customer who walks in from that point can subscribe instantly.
Do my customers need an app?
No. Customers scan your QR code with the camera on any smartphone — no app download needed. They're taken to a simple page where they enter their email address. That's it. They're subscribed and will receive your future alerts directly to their inbox.
I'm not very tech-savvy. Is this really simple?
If you can send a text message, you can use FlashAlert. The alert-sending page has two fields: what you're selling, and the price. That's it. No dashboards, no integrations, no learning curve. We built it for shop owners who are busy running a shop — not for developers.
What types of business can use FlashAlert?
FlashAlert is built for UK independent retailers with fresh or time-sensitive stock: bakeries, butchers, florists, greengrocers, fishmongers, farm shops, delis, cafés, patisseries, and similar businesses. If you regularly have great stock that needs shifting before close, FlashAlert is for you.
How it works in practice
How are alerts delivered to customers?
Alerts are delivered by email — directly to your subscribers' inboxes. No app, no SMS, no algorithm between you and your customers. Because subscribers specifically opted in to hear from your shop, open rates are high and engagement is strong.
Why email instead of SMS or WhatsApp?
No friction, no barriers. Customers don't need to share their mobile number or manage WhatsApp permissions. Email is universal — every smartphone has it, and there's nothing extra to install or set up on their side.
SMS can feel intrusive. Unsolicited texts from businesses lead to high block and opt-out rates. Email is a pull-medium: customers check it when they're ready, which means they're in the right mindset to act on your offer.
Guaranteed reach. Unlike social media posts, emails aren't filtered by an algorithm. Your alert goes to every subscriber's inbox, every time you send — not just the 5% the algorithm feels like showing it to today.
Can I send alerts whenever I want?
Yes — completely. You decide when to send, what to offer, and what price to set. Send an alert whenever you have a fresh delivery, surplus stock, or a last-minute deal. Each alert you send uses one credit from your balance.
Do credits expire?
No. Your credits never expire. Top up when you're ready and use them at your own pace — whether that's twice a week or twice a month. There are no time limits and no pressure to send alerts you don't need. All purchases are non-refundable.
I don't have many customers yet. Is it worth starting now?
Every shop starts at zero. Your list builds one scan at a time — every loyal customer who walks through the door is a potential subscriber. Within a fortnight, most shops have enough subscribers on their list to make a meaningful difference to end-of-day sales. The best time to start is today, not when you think you're "ready."
Is FlashAlert the same as Too Good To Go?
No — they're genuinely different tools for different goals, and both can have a place.
Too Good To Go is a food-waste marketplace. Customers buy a mystery bag of surplus food at a fixed low price, and the platform takes a commission on each sale. Your customers don't choose what's in the bag, and you don't control the price.
FlashAlert is a direct communication tool. You sell your actual stock at your actual price to customers who specifically followed your shop. You set the offer, you keep the relationship, and you keep every penny of what you charge. No commission, no mystery bags, no middleman.
If reducing food waste matters to you, TGTG does that well. If you want to drive footfall, sell at a price you choose, and own your customer list — that's what FlashAlert does.
How to get real results from day one.
The shops that see the best results don't just print the QR code and wait. They follow a simple playbook. Here it is.
Put the QR code everywhere customers stop and wait.
The best position is right next to your card machine — every paying customer glances there. Also place it at eye level on the front door, the counter edge, and any window facing foot traffic.
The more times a customer sees it, the more likely they are to scan. Multiple placements in one shop outperform a single prominent sign every time.
Train your staff to say nine words.
The single most effective way to grow your list is a verbal prompt at the till. Give your team one line to say to every customer:
"Scan that code to get our last-minute deals sent straight to you."
Nine words. No pressure. It works because it's genuinely useful for the customer — not just promotional for you.
Offer something small to get the first scan.
In the first week, a small instant reward turns curious customers into subscribers. You don't need a large discount — just something immediate.
"Scan to join our deals list and take 5% off today's order."
Once they're subscribed, that relationship is yours. The cost of one small discount is repaid every time they respond to a future alert.
Move your social media followers onto your list.
Post your FlashAlert sign-up link on Facebook and Instagram with a simple, honest message:
"Social media hides most of our posts. Sign up here and we'll message you directly whenever we have something great."
Your existing followers are already warm. Moving even a fraction of them onto a direct list gives you a far more reliable audience than any social platform's algorithm.
Send alerts at the right time, not just any time.
Timing drives footfall. 4–5pm on weekdays catches customers on the way home from work. Friday afternoon is the best single time slot for food retailers. Saturday morning suits florists and farm shops well.
Think about when your customers are physically nearby and able to act. An alert sent at 11pm on a Wednesday will be ignored regardless of how good the deal is.
Be specific and put the price in the alert.
Vague alerts get ignored. Specific alerts drive footfall. Compare:
"End of day deals available in store."
"8 sourdough loaves — £1.50 each. Collection before 5:30pm today only."
The second alert tells the customer exactly what they're getting, what it costs, and how long they have. Specificity creates urgency. Urgency drives action.
Don't send every day. Keep your list healthy.
Subscribers who receive daily alerts unsubscribe quickly. The sweet spot for most retailers is two to three times per week at most — only when you genuinely have something worth alerting about.
A smaller, engaged list that opens every alert is worth far more than a large, exhausted list that ignores you. Restraint builds trust. Trust keeps subscribers.
⚡ Reach 50 subscribers before you send your first alert.
This is the single most important piece of advice we can give you. An alert sent to 10 subscribers will bring in 1–2 customers at best. That's not enough to feel the impact of the system — and it's enough to make you think it isn't working.
Spend the first two weeks focused entirely on collecting subscribers. Don't send a single alert yet. Put up the signs, do the till prompts, post the link on social. When you cross 50 local subscribers, send your first flash deal. You'll see the difference immediately — a real crowd, not a trickle.
50 subscribers isn't a magic number — it's simply enough for the system to demonstrate its own value to you. From that point, each new subscriber makes every future alert more valuable. The list compounds.
Create your shop account in 2 minutes.
Enter your shop name, town, and email. We'll send you a one-click link straight away — your QR code is ready to download and print on the other side. No password, no card.