A shopper’s question before a store visit is usually simple: are you open until 9, do you have this in my size, can I return it without the receipt. If your website can’t answer, they call, or they buy from a big-box site that can. A chatbot for retail does one job: answers those questions from your store policies, and gets the ones that need a person (a stock check, a hold, a special order) to the right store.
Feedbot is the tool we make. It’s a fit for independent stores, small chains and brands with both a shop and a website. It is not a POS, an inventory system or a clienteling app. If you sell only online, read our ecommerce chatbot page instead: it focuses on shipping, tracking and checkout questions.
What do retail shoppers ask?
| Shopper question | What the bot does | Knowledge source |
|---|---|---|
| “What time do you close on Sunday?” | Gives hours per location, plus holiday hours | Business profile |
| “Do you have this in stock at the downtown store?” | Checks live stock through an Action, or hands off to that store | Inventory Action (Pro) or handoff |
| “Can you hold it for me until tomorrow?” | Collects name, item, store, and contact; creates a ticket | Handoff |
| “Can I return it without a receipt?” | Quotes the return window and receipt rules | Returns policy |
| “I bought online, can I return in store?” | Explains cross-channel return rules | Returns policy |
| “Do you price match?” | States the policy and its exclusions | FAQ |
| “Does my gift card expire? What’s my balance?” | Explains expiry and fees; points to the balance page or the store | Gift card terms |
| “Can I buy online and pick up today?” | Explains pickup times, ID requirements, how long orders are held | Pickup page |
| “Do you carry the Dyson V15 or can you order it?” | Answers from the catalog pages, offers a special order | Product pages |
| “Is there parking? Is the store wheelchair accessible?” | Gives parking and access details per location | Business profile |
| “Are you hiring for the holidays?” | Links the jobs page | FAQ |
| “The jacket I bought last week ripped” | Takes the order or receipt details, creates a ticket (shoppers can attach a photo on Starter and up) | Handoff |
For a store with several locations, list each one in the business profile (address, hours, phone, parking) so the bot never mixes them up. Write holiday hours there too.
Stock questions: three honest options
“Is it in stock?” is the most common and the hardest retail question. Pick one approach and tell the bot which:
- Hand off to staff (any plan). The bot collects the item, size or color, the store, and the shopper’s contact, then hands off to your staff’s Telegram group. Staff check the shelf and reply; if the shopper left, the reply goes by email.
- Live lookup through an Action (Pro and Business). If your POS or inventory system has an API, a developer adds an HTTP Action that takes a SKU and store and returns the quantity. The bot calls it when a shopper asks. Feedbot has no built-in POS integrations, so this is custom work.
- No stock answers. The bot says it can’t see stock and gives the store phone number. Better than guessing.
Add a custom instruction in Bot → Behavior either way: “Never say an item is in stock unless the inventory tool returned it. Never promise to hold an item; create a request for staff.”
What to put in the knowledge base
- Return and exchange policy, with the window, receipt rules, final-sale items, and online vs. in-store differences.
- Gift card terms.
- Price match, layaway, special order and alteration policies.
- Pickup and delivery: hours, ID needed, how long orders wait.
- Category and product pages from your site (website import starts on Starter, see knowledge base). Click Refresh website after catalog changes.
Retail rules the bot must get right
The bot repeats your policy, so the policy has to be legally sound. Two rules that trip up US stores:
- Gift cards. Under federal Regulation E, a store gift card generally can’t expire sooner than five years after it was issued or last loaded, and inactivity fees are allowed only after a year with no use. Many states go further. Make sure your gift card FAQ matches, and never let the bot tell a shopper their card has “expired” if your terms don’t say so.
- Posted return policies. In California, Civil Code 1723 requires stores that don’t give full refunds or exchanges within seven days to post their policy; if they don’t, the shopper can return within 30 days. Whatever your state, the chat answer should match the sign at your register word for word.
And three things not to automate:
- Refunds and exceptions. The bot explains the policy. Exceptions (“it’s day 32, can I still return it?”) become a ticket for a manager.
- Payments. Never take card numbers in chat. Send shoppers to your online checkout or the store.
- Gift card balances. The bot can’t see balances unless you build an Action for it. Link to your balance page instead.
Sample conversation
Shopper: Hi, I bought a lamp online last week. Can I return it at the Elm Street store?
Bot: Yes. Online orders can be returned at any of our stores within 30 days with the order confirmation email. You’ll get a refund to your original payment method. Elm Street is open today until 8 pm.
Shopper: The box is gone though.
Bot: That’s fine for lamps, as long as all parts are included. Only electronics need the original box. Want me to tell the Elm Street team you’re coming?
Shopper: Sure, I’ll be there around 6. Sam, [email protected]
Bot: Done, Sam. I’ve let them know.
Metrics to watch
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Stock and hold requests per store | Demand you’d otherwise miss; whether a live inventory Action is worth building |
| Return-policy questions | Whether your policy is clear on the site and receipt |
| Unanswered questions (weekly report) | Missing holiday hours, missing product pages |
| Handoff response time | Whether store staff answer before shoppers give up |
| Directions and hours questions by location | Which stores need clearer local pages |
Set up in 3 steps
- Create the bot. Add your store locations to the business profile, paste or import the returns, gift card and pickup policies, and import key category pages on a paid plan (pricing).
- Add it to your site and stores. Paste the script tag through your platform’s custom-code setting (there is no Shopify or Wix app; you paste the code) or see install. Print the chat link as a QR code for shelf tags and receipts.
- Connect your stores. Connect a staff Telegram group in Settings → Notifications and turn on handoff, so hold and stock requests reach people who can walk to the shelf. Handoff chats are chosen per bot, so a chain that wants each store’s requests in its own group can run one bot per location (3 bots on Starter, 10 on Pro).
Running a cafe or restaurant inside the store? See the chatbot for restaurants. For pure online stores, see the ecommerce chatbot.