Ecommerce and D2C
WhatsApp for ecommerce teams, without passing the shop phone around
Pre-sale questions, cash-on-delivery checks, payment links and returns run through one shared inbox. New chats are shared out in turn, and each reply sent from Risponse shows who wrote it.
Two requests, one chat
One store number, many hands, and no clear owner
Many stores start with one phone. As orders grow, that number has to serve new buyers, returns and the delivery desk at the same time.
Each message in a chat gets its own category. The returns desk works from its own timeline instead of reading through new-order chatter.
How message categories work-
One phone, passed around
Only the person holding the phone can reply. Questions about sizes, stock and delivery wait until that person is free.
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Two requests in one chat
A buyer asks for a refund and orders a second item in the same conversation. Whoever opens the chat answers one request and misses the other.
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Returns that slip through
Photos of a damaged parcel get buried under newer chats. Nobody owns the case, so the buyer writes again, a little less patiently.
Customer journey
Every step a buyer takes, from first question to review
Four short chats, from a sizing question late at night to a damaged parcel, with the tools your team uses at each step.
Pre-sale questions answered while your team is offline
Buyers ask about size, fabric and delivery times before they order, at any hour. The AI agent answers from your FAQs and documents, gives your team a moment to reply first, and hands anything it cannot answer to a person.
- Working hours. Limit the agent to nights and weekends, or let it cover all hours, on the numbers you choose.
- No talking over your team. When a teammate replies, the agent holds back for a set time, so the buyer is not sent two answers.
- Handover notes. For bulk orders or custom requests, it leaves a private note that mentions the right teammate.
Cash on delivery checked, or switched to a payment link
Before parcels leave, the team checks each cash-on-delivery order with one bulk message. When a buyer would rather pay now, a teammate sends a payment link from the message box, in the same chat.
- Labels for the answer. Tag replies as Confirmed or Cancelled, then filter the list before the courier pickup.
- Payment links. Sent from the actions menu beside the message box, with no copying and pasting.
- Forms for address fixes. Send a form when a buyer needs to correct a delivery address or add a landmark.
Every delivery question lands with the delivery desk
Shipping updates go out from a delivery number, so questions about late parcels come back to it. Rules reply after hours, share new chats across the delivery desk and email a manager if a buyer waits too long.
- After-hours replies. A rule tells buyers when the desk opens, so a late message is not met with silence.
- Escalation in steps. Alert the desk lead after one hour and a manager after two, if a parcel question is still waiting.
- Flags on keywords. Flag messages with words like missing or damaged, so they stand out in a busy list.
Returns tracked to the refund, then a request for a review
When a parcel arrives broken, the buyer sends photos. A teammate reacts with the returns emoji, Risponse opens a ticket from that message for the returns lead, and a required field records the refund outcome before the ticket can close.
- Emoji tickets. Agree on one emoji for returns, and anyone reading chats can start a case.
- Translation in the chat. AI translation turns the buyer’s message into your language, and your answer into theirs.
- Review requests. Schedule a short message for a few days after the case closes, asking the buyer how it went.
Choosing a stage shows how a team handles it in Risponse.
Use cases
How online stores use a WhatsApp team inbox
Start with the job that takes your team the most time. Each card links to the Risponse feature behind it.
- Size, stock and fit questions
- Cash-on-delivery confirmations
- Payment links for prepaid orders
- Address fixes by form
- Late parcel follow-ups
- Separate sales and delivery numbers
- After-hours auto-replies
- Order status lookups by AI agent
- Returns and refunds as tickets
- Review requests after delivery
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Confirm cash-on-delivery orders
Upload the day’s cash-on-delivery orders as a file of numbers, add the order number as a variable and send one short check. Replies land in the inbox, where the team adds a Confirmed label to each chat.
Variables and templates -
A number for sales, one for delivery
Keep one number for sales and another for delivery updates, and work both from one list. Each chat shows the number it came through, and the reply box shows which number your answer leaves from.
Multi-number inbox -
Live order status from your own system
A custom tool, set up with a developer, lets the AI agent call your order system during a chat, so a buyer asking where a parcel is gets the live status. Your team can review each lookup, with what went in and what came back.
Custom tools for the AI agent -
Keep the shop phone on the Business app
With coexistence, the shop phone keeps the Business app while agents work the same number in Risponse, and messages sync both ways. Setup brings in up to 180 days of one-to-one history. Groups stay in the app and do not sync.
Coexistence
Integrations
Returns and refunds in the help desk you already use
Risponse connects to the tools below. Each line says what it does for an online store.
- Helpdesk A return opened as a ticket in Risponse can also appear in Freshdesk, where your returns team picks it up. Freshdesk setup guide
- Helpdesk Tickets created from WhatsApp chats also show up in Zoho Desk. Add Risponse fields to its ticket layout to see them there. Zoho Desk setup guide
- Data Copy new chats and ticket updates to a sheet, and chart open returns by day. Google Sheets setup guide
- Automation When a ticket is created, a Zap can add a row to your project board and post a note for the team. Zapier setup guide
Zoho and Zoho Desk are trademarks of Zoho Corporation Private Limited and/or its affiliates. Freshdesk, Google Sheets and Zapier are trademarks of their owners. Risponse is not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies.
Your other apps
Check orders, payments and parcels in the apps your store already uses
These apps are not built into Risponse. Connect one with your own account, and the AI agent can look up an order, payment or parcel while it answers, or a Zap can send a new ticket on to it.
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Orders in your store
- WooCommerce
The AI agent can look up an order’s status in your WooCommerce store, with a read-only API key you create there.
- Custom tool (API)
- Shopify
When your team opens a return ticket, a Zap can find the order in Shopify and update its note. The Zap needs the order number.
- Zapier
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Check payments and refunds
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The AI agent can check whether a payment link made in your Razorpay account has been paid, or look up a refund.
- MCP connector
- Custom tool (API)
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The AI agent can look up an order, a payment link or a refund in your Cashfree account when a buyer asks.
- MCP connector
- Custom tool (API)
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Track parcels
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The AI agent can check a parcel’s tracking status with your Delhivery API token when a buyer asks where an order is.
- Custom tool (API)
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You choose which lookups or actions the AI agent may use. Start with lookups, which only read. Keep actions such as refunds switched off unless your rules are very clear. A developer usually sets up a custom tool.
- MCP connector The AI agent uses the app’s MCP server, signed in with your account, and only the lookups and actions you turn on. How it works : MCP connector
- Custom tool (API) The AI agent calls a web API with a key or token you add, for example to check a status. How it works : Custom tool (API)
- Zapier A new chat, message or ticket in Risponse starts a Zap that sends it on to the app. How it works : Zapier
WooCommerce, Shopify, Razorpay, Cashfree Payments and Delhivery are trademarks of their owners. Risponse is not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies.
Set-up guides
Set it up for your store
FAQ
WhatsApp for ecommerce and D2C: your questions answered
Still unsure? Email us and a person from our team will reply.
How do ecommerce brands use WhatsApp for customer support?
Typical uses are order questions, delivery updates, returns and payment follow-ups. In Risponse the whole team replies from one shared inbox, with new chats assigned in turn and private notes for handovers. Returns and complaints become tickets, so each one has an owner.
WhatsApp shared inboxCan I send WhatsApp order updates to many customers at once?
Yes. A bulk message goes to a saved list or an uploaded file of numbers, with variables such as name and order number. Each reply arrives in the shared inbox. Send only to buyers who expect an update, space the sends out and raise volume step by step. WhatsApp can still restrict any number, so check the logs for failures.
Best practicesCan a WhatsApp AI agent tell customers where their order is?
It can once a developer connects your order system as a custom tool. The agent asks for the order number, calls your API and replies with the live status. Without that tool, it sticks to what your knowledge base says and hands order questions to your team.
Custom toolsHow much does WhatsApp cost for an online store?
A number connected by QR code has no Meta fees. On a Business API number, messages customers send you are free, and Meta bills each delivered business message by category and the customer’s country. As of October 2026, free-form service replies are billed after the first 1,000 delivered on each number each month. Risponse plans are listed on the pricing page.
Meta’s WhatsApp pricingCan my team see order details next to a WhatsApp chat?
Yes. Custom properties add your own fields beside each chat, such as order ID, city or return reason. You can filter the chat list by any of them. If you use HubSpot or Zoho CRM, you can also link the chat to the customer’s record there.
WhatsApp CRMDoes Risponse work with my helpdesk for returns?
Yes, if you use Freshdesk or Zoho Desk. Once connected, tickets you open in Risponse can show up there as well, so a returns team that lives in its helpdesk picks up the same case. Agents keep talking to the buyer on WhatsApp from the inbox.
Freshdesk integration