WhatsApp Stock and Availability Answers From Live Inventory
“Do you have the 20kg bags?” “Is the black one in size 8 at your city store?” Stock questions are short and frequent, and easy to get wrong from memory. AeroChat answers them on WhatsApp by checking the live count in Square, NetSuite, Shopify or your stock Sheet, and records what customers wanted when you don’t have it.
What happens today
Someone walks to the storeroom or opens the inventory screen, checks, and replies. Trade customers ask about several items and quantities in one message, and the answer takes a call to the warehouse.
When the count in someone’s head is a day old, a customer travels over for an item that sold out that morning. When nobody replies, a trade buyer orders from the next supplier on their list.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The customer asks about an item, a size or pack, a quantity or a location.
- AeroChat works out the exact item, and asks for the size, colour or pack size if it is not clear.
- It reads the live stock count from Square, NetSuite, Shopify or your stock Sheet, by location if you keep more than one.
- It replies with what is available, and for a short item, how many you have and the restock date if your system holds one.
- It offers the next step: the product link, an order in the chat, or for a trade customer, the order passed to your sales team.
- If the item is out of stock and the customer wants to hear when it is back, it asks for their consent and adds them to a restock list in a Google Sheet.
- Quantities above what you hold, trade prices and custom orders go to your team in the inbox.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks whether we have something in stock, follow these steps.
- Find the exact item. If they have not said the size, colour or pack size, ask.
- Check the stock count in Square for the location they name. If they don’t name one, check all our locations and list the ones that have it.
- If the count is 5 or more (example), say it is in stock. If it is 1 to 4, give the exact number. If it is 0, say it is out of stock and give the restock date from the Restock column of our Stock Sheet (example), if there is one.
- If it is out of stock and they want to hear when it is back, ask whether we may message them on WhatsApp about it. If they agree, add a row to the Restock Requests tab with the date, name, phone number, item and “opted in”.
- If they ask for more than we have, or ask for a trade price, hand the conversation to our sales team.
Never say an item is in stock without checking the count. Never promise to hold stock. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the stock thresholds, the Sheet and the location names to your own. On NetSuite, name the warehouse location AeroChat should check.
Connect the systems behind it
- Square. AeroChat reads your item library and stock counts per location, the same counts your POS uses.
- NetSuite. AeroChat reads item records and available quantities per warehouse, so trade customers get the real figure.
- Google Sheets. AeroChat reads stock from a Sheet you keep, and adds customers who opted in to a restock list. Connect your Google account.
- Shopify. Built in. AeroChat reads live stock for each product variant.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What it costs on WhatsApp
Stock questions come from customers, so they cost nothing to receive. AeroChat’s replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are service messages: free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. A clear answer with the count and the next step in one message keeps the number of replies down, which now saves money. A back-in-stock message you send later goes out as an approved template, charged per message, and only to customers who agreed to receive it. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
The same stock workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email. Every channel reads the same live count, so customers get the same answer wherever they ask.
Who uses it
- Product and stock questions for B2B suppliers: trade buyers checking quantities across several items before they order.
Questions
Can WhatsApp answer stock questions automatically?
Yes. AeroChat checks the live count in your inventory system each time a customer asks, and replies with what is available. It does not answer from memory or from an old export.
Can it check stock at a specific branch or warehouse?
Yes, if your system tracks stock by location. AeroChat checks the location the customer names, or lists the locations that have the item.
Can customers be told when an item is back in stock?
Yes, if they agree. AeroChat adds them to a restock list with their consent. Your team then sends the news as a WhatsApp broadcast to opted-in customers, which is on the Growth plan and above. That message is an approved template.
What does WhatsApp charge for stock questions?
The customer’s question is free. Your replies within 24 hours of their last message are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message.
Answer stock questions from the real count
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: product recommendations and B2B ordering and reorders.