WhatsApp Product Recommendations From Your Catalogue
Shoppers on WhatsApp ask “what do you have for oily skin?” or “something for a wedding under S$150?”. AeroChat answers from your own catalogue: the products, variants, prices and stock in Shopify, Square or a Google Sheet, plus the notes in your knowledge base. It asks what it needs to know, suggests items that are in stock, and sends the links to buy.
What happens today
One or two people on your team know the range well and answer these by hand. They scroll the catalogue, check stock in the admin, and paste product links one at a time.
Outside their hours the question waits, and the shopper buys somewhere else. Newer staff recommend whatever they remember, including items that sold out last week.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The shopper asks for a recommendation.
- AeroChat asks the one or two questions that matter, such as what it is for, their size, skin type or budget.
- It reads your catalogue from Shopify, Square or your product Sheet: matching products, variants, prices and live stock.
- It suggests two or three items that are in stock, with one line on why each fits, the price and the link.
- It answers follow-up questions from the product descriptions and your knowledge base.
- When a shopper asks for something you don’t carry, it logs the request in a Google Sheet, so you can see what people want that you don’t stock.
- If the shopper mentions an allergy, a reaction or a skin condition, it hands the conversation to your team.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a shopper asks what to buy or asks for a recommendation, follow these steps.
- Ask what it is for, and up to two more questions that narrow it down, such as size, skin type or budget. Ask no more than three questions in total.
- Search our Shopify products for items that match. Only suggest variants that are in stock.
- Suggest two or three products. For each, give one line on why it fits, the price and the product link.
- Answer follow-up questions from the product description and our knowledge base. If the answer is not there, say you will check with the team.
- If they ask for something we don’t carry, add a row to the Requests tab of our Product Requests Sheet (example) with the date, what they asked for and what you suggested instead.
- If they mention an allergy, a reaction or a skin condition, hand the conversation to our team.
Never recommend an item that is out of stock. Never make medical claims about a product. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the number of questions, the Sheet name and the handover topics to fit your range before you paste it.
Connect the systems behind it
- Google Sheets. Sell from a product Sheet with the built-in Google Sheets store, and log requests for products you don’t carry to a Sheet your buyer reads.
- Square. AeroChat reads your Square item library and stock counts, so a shop that sells in store and in chat recommends from the same stock.
- Klaviyo. With the shopper’s consent, AeroChat adds them to your list and records what they were looking for, so your emails follow up on the right products.
- Shopify. Built in. AeroChat syncs your products and reads live stock for each 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
Recommendations happen inside a conversation the shopper started, so their messages are free. 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. Asking the right two questions and sending a short list in one reply keeps the conversation short, which now saves money. If you later send new arrivals to opted-in customers, those go out as marketing templates, charged per message with no free allowance. 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 recommendation workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email. It reads the same catalogue and stock on every channel, so a shopper who asks on Instagram gets the same answer as one who asks on WhatsApp. See this workflow on Instagram.
Who uses it
- Fashion stores: outfit and occasion suggestions with sizes that are in stock.
- Beauty stores: product suggestions by skin type and concern, with reactions handed to a person.
Read more: How to set up a WhatsApp catalog for Shopify products.
Questions
Can WhatsApp recommend products from my Shopify store?
Yes. AeroChat syncs your Shopify products and reads live stock, so its suggestions come from what you actually sell today. It sends the product link so the shopper can buy straight away.
Does it recommend items that are out of stock?
No. It checks stock for each variant before it suggests anything, and only offers what is available.
Can it recommend products in other languages?
Yes. AeroChat replies in the customer’s language, including mixed languages such as Singlish and Manglish, using the same catalogue.
What does WhatsApp charge for product recommendation chats?
The shopper’s messages are 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. Promotional messages you send later are marketing templates, charged per message.
Recommend from your own catalogue on WhatsApp
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Related: stock and availability questions and upsell and cross-sell.