WhatsApp for grocery stores: the order list arrives before the customer does

Yes, typed lists and photos of handwritten lists both arrive as normal chat messages in Growcord's shared inbox, where any staffer can read them, confirm the total and assign a delivery slot. A bot can also take structured orders through a keyword menu, but photo lists still need a human to read them, no tool reliably converts a handwritten chit automatically.

Write the offer as a template, get it approved by Meta once, then broadcast it to your opted-in list on a schedule from Growcord. There's no 256-contact cap like the Business app's broadcast lists, customers don't need to have saved your number, and you see delivered and read counts per send.

Often, yes. If one person answers one phone for a few hundred customers, the free app does the job. Move to the API when multiple people need to answer from one number, your offer list outgrows 256-contact broadcast lists, or you want order confirmations and delivery updates sent automatically.

Growcord starts at ₹299/month (₹99/month billed yearly) with 200 conversations included, and there's a free tier with 50 conversations a month to trial it. Meta's per-conversation fees apply on top, around ₹0.78–0.88 for a marketing message, far less for utility updates, and nothing for replying to customers who message you first.

Only if people didn't ask for them or the offers aren't useful. Take opt-ins at the counter, keep the message short and price-led, segment by area so it's relevant, and include an opt-out line. Blocks show up in your quality rating inside the dashboard, so you'll see a problem before Meta acts on it.

Yes. A WhatsApp catalog attached to your business profile lets customers browse items with prices and photos and add them to a cart inside the chat. For a kirana, the practical setup is a catalog of your top 50–100 packaged SKUs, atta, oil, dals, staples, with free text still handling loose sabzi and anything unlisted. The WhatsApp catalog page has the setup steps.