How to collect customer emails at a pop-up shop, market, or craft fair

Saturday at the makers' market. Your candle table does steady business from 9 until 2, and by the end of the day you've sold to 60 or 70 people. You know almost nothing about any of them. A few followed you on Instagram. The card reader has names on some receipts and no email on any of them. If you want to collect customer emails at a pop-up shop, market, or craft fair, you have a few seconds while someone is standing at your table with a reason to stay, and the offer has to pay off right there.

With Textiful, a small sign by the register says "Scan for 10% off today." Shoppers scan, reply with their email, and the reply shows the code. They show the text at checkout, and they're on your Mailchimp or Kit list, tagged with the market, before they walk to the next booth.

The problem with collecting emails at a market table

Market shoppers are moving. They pick something up, decide, pay, and leave. A clipboard asks them to stop, find the pen, and write an email for a list they haven't been given a reason to join. Most don't.

The ones who do write it down hand you another job: typing a page of handwriting into your email tool on Sunday night, guessing at the letters.

Meanwhile, the person at your table has just picked up something you made and wanted it. That's who you'd want on your list most, and they're the easiest to lose.

Why the usual fixes fall short

• A sign-up sheet by the register catches the people who were already willing, and nobody else.
• A QR code to your website's newsletter form asks for a page load on a market's crowded cell signal and a form on a small screen.
• Asking for an email at checkout on your card reader slows the line, and some systems only send a receipt.
• A business card in the bag hopes the shopper will visit your site later and sign up themselves.

How to set it up with Textiful

1. Start from the "Quick email signup" template. It's one question, the email, and then done. Edit the final reply to carry the offer: "You're on the list. Show this text at the register for 10% off today: CANDLE10."
2. Set the trigger. A QR code is free and unlimited, so print one for the table sign and one for the bag stuffer. For a stall where people stand back from the table, add a keyword like CANDLES on 33777. One keyword is included on every plan.
3. Add actions. "Add to Mailchimp" or "Add to Kit" puts the shopper on your list. Add "Tag the contact" with the market's name and date, so your email tool can tell your Saturday market list from your holiday fair list. Other email tools connect through Zapier.
4. Make the sign. Download the QR code (PNG or SVG). Put the offer first and say what scanning does: "Scan for 10% off today. Opens a text, tap send." Stand it next to the register, where people are already reaching for their phones.
5. Tell your helper what to say. "If you scan that, you'll get 10% off what you're holding." Said at the moment someone picks up a product, that line does most of the work.

Should you add a giveaway?

A giveaway gives a reason to join for people who aren't buying today. Start from the "Run a giveaway" template, or add a giveaway step after the email question in your discount flow. Each phone number gets one entry. At the end of the day, draw winners at random from the giveaway's page and, if you turn it on, text the winners to come collect the prize. If you have official rules, add the link; whether you need them depends on your giveaway, so check with your own legal advisor. Read event giveaways that grow your email list for prize ideas.

Every extra question costs a few finishers. Across Textiful flows over 90 days in 2026, 1-question flows finished 89.5% of the time and 2-question flows 83.1%. A discount flow with one question is the fastest to finish.

Variations

• One flow per market. Copy the flow for each market or fair with its own QR code and tag. Each flow reports separately, so after a season you can see which markets added the most people to your list.
• The offer without a question. The "Send an offer or info" template sends one reply, such as a code, with no questions. It's quick, but you don't get an email, so use it only where speed matters more than the list.
• A pop-up shop in a store. For a weeklong pop-up, put the code on the window and the fitting room mirror, and make the offer "10% off this week."
• A care card in the bag. Print a second QR code on a card that goes in the bag, with "Scan for care tips and new scents first." Send the care guide as a handout.

Before and after

	Clipboard by the register	Textiful QR code at the table
Why a shopper joins	They were already going to	A discount they can use right now
Who types the email	You, on Sunday night	The shopper, on their own phone
Bad addresses	Discovered when emails bounce	Asked again during the flow
Knowing which market they came from	A note at the top of the page	A tag on every contact
Getting them onto your list	Copying by hand	Added to Mailchimp or Kit as they finish

Each shopper who starts the flow counts as one conversation. QR codes are free, and plans start from $19/month; see pricing. If your table is at a trade show instead of a market, read collecting emails at a trade show booth.

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