AI in a neighborhood store: what you can do now.

What does AI do in a store?

AI handles the tasks the counter repeats all day. In a street store, the most common ones are:

• Answering price and stock questions. A customer asks if you have the sneaker in size 40. The AI checks the store’s spreadsheet or system and answers. When the question goes beyond that, it hands the chat to a person.
• Letting people know when an item arrives. Customers who asked to be told get a message the day the goods come in. Only those who asked.
• Reading supplier invoices. You take a photo of the invoice and the program fills in the spreadsheet with item, quantity and price. Someone only checks it.
• Asking for a Google review. A day after the purchase, the customer gets the link to review the store.
• Counting foot traffic. An AI camera counts how many people come in per hour. You see at what time you need more people at the counter.
• Summing up the week. Every Monday, a short text shows what sold most, what sat on the shelf and what is running low.

Decisions about buying, pricing and the shop window stay with the owner. The AI gathers the information so the owner can decide.

Start today, for free: WhatsApp Business

The WhatsApp Business app is free. It already shows your products and answers repeated questions with fixed texts that you write once. Everything is in the Tools tab.

1. Fill in the profile. In Tools, Business profile, add the address, hours and payment methods.
2. Build the catalog. In Tools, Catalog, add the products that sell most, with a photo, price and a short description. In a chat, send the catalog item instead of typing everything again.
3. Turn on the greeting. In Greeting message, write a short text with your hours and the catalog link. According to WhatsApp’s help center, it goes to people who write for the first time or after 14 days without a conversation.
4. Turn on the away message. In Away message, choose Outside of business hours and say when the store opens.
5. Create quick replies. In Quick replies, save the address, payment methods, exchange policy and delivery time. You can save up to 50. In a chat, type / and pick one.
6. Use labels. Create the label Tell when it arrives and tag the people who asked. The day the item arrives, open the label and message only those people.

The step-by-step with sample texts is in the article on ready-made messages in WhatsApp Business.

Start today, for free: stock, purchases and reviews

Stock and purchases in Google Sheets

1. Create a spreadsheet with two tabs. In the Stock tab, use the columns Product, Size or color, Quantity and Price. In the Purchases tab, use Date, Supplier, Item, Quantity and Amount.
2. Create a folder in Google Drive called Supplier invoices.
3. When an invoice arrives, open the Google Drive app on your phone, tap + and then Scan. Save it to the folder.
4. Once a week, copy the invoices into the Purchases tab and update the Stock tab.

With the spreadsheet up to date, the AI has somewhere to find the answer when a customer asks if you have an item. See the example of the spreadsheet that fills itself.

Reviews on Google Business Profile

1. On a computer, open your Business Profile. Google says the review QR code can only be created in a computer browser.
2. Click Read reviews and then Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link and save it as a WhatsApp quick reply. Print the QR code and leave it at the till.
4. Ask every customer, without offering anything in return.

More details in the article on Google Business Profile.

What needs care?

• Customer data. The name and phone number of someone who asked to be notified are personal data under the LGPD (Law 13.709/2018). Use the list only for the notice they asked for. To send promotions, ask first and keep the answer. See LGPD on WhatsApp.
• Sales on WhatsApp and returns. Article 49 of Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code gives customers 7 days to withdraw when the purchase happens outside the store, counted from signing or from receiving the product. The text mentions sales by phone and at home. Make your exchange and return policy clear in a quick reply and confirm your case with your accountant or a lawyer.
• Correct prices. If the AI answers prices, the spreadsheet must be up to date. An old price in a reply leads to arguments at the counter.
• Reviews in exchange for freebies. Google’s help center says offering free products or discounts in exchange for reviews is prohibited.
• Cameras in the store. Customer images are personal data. Let people know the place is filmed and use the camera to count, without recognizing faces. Facial recognition uses biometric data, which the law treats as sensitive data. See AI cameras for shops and restaurants.

When is it worth going beyond the free tools?

The free app always sends the same text and does not check stock. Some signs show the store needs more:

• the same price and size question arrives dozens of times a day;
• customers give up because the reply took too long;
• the stock spreadsheet never matches the shelf;
• you do not know which product stopped selling and is taking up space.

In these cases, AI connected to the official WhatsApp API and to the store’s spreadsheet or system answers with current stock. Meta charges for the API per delivered message. See our work in retail.

To see where to start in your store, take the free checkup. The result shows the three tasks worth starting with.