SMS geofencing
What is SMS geofencing?
SMS geofencing is location-based marketing that draws a virtual perimeter around a physical place — a store, venue, or delivery zone — and automatically triggers a text message when a customer's device enters or exits that boundary, provided the customer has already opted in to receive marketing texts. It powers hyper-local promotions, proximity alerts, and delivery or arrival notifications, and depends on a mobile app or location provider reporting device location plus a platform that can act on it in real time.
More detail
Geofencing is boundary-triggered rather than attribute-triggered: the message fires on a location event — entering or leaving a defined radius or polygon — instead of being sent to everyone tagged with a static home city or country, which is the difference between geofencing and broader geotargeting.
Because it relies on real-time device location, SMS geofencing still requires the same prior express consent, quiet-hours handling, and opt-out support as any other marketing text — a device crossing into a geofence is a targeting signal, not a substitute for TCPA/CTIA consent.
On Orbit, the geofence event itself is captured by the business's own app or location provider; Orbit's customer data platform ingests that location as a custom or computed trait, builds the entering/exiting segment, and sends the SMS through the same messaging, consent, and quiet-hours pipeline as any other segment-triggered campaign.
Frequently asked
- Is SMS geofencing legal?
- Yes, provided the recipient has already given the same prior express consent required for any marketing text under TCPA (US) or equivalent regional rules. A device entering a geofence is a targeting signal, not consent by itself, and quiet-hours and opt-out rules still apply exactly as they do to any other SMS campaign.
- What's the difference between SMS geofencing and geotargeting?
- Geotargeting sends a message to everyone matching a static location attribute, like a city or ZIP code on file. Geofencing is event-triggered — the message fires the moment a device enters or exits a defined boundary in real time, which is what makes it useful for near-storefront promotions and arrival alerts.
See also
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