A kirana store or neighbourhood grocery runs on regulars and on the phone. "Bhaiya, do you have Amul butter?" "Send me two kilos of atta and a packet of tea." "Is the fresh paneer in yet?" Most of those calls and WhatsApp messages come in while you're weighing dal for the customer in front of you.
Putting that kind of shop online has usually meant one of two things. Either a delivery app that takes a commission and owns the customer, or a custom e-commerce site with a cart, payments and logistics that a single-counter shop doesn't need. Most grocers do neither, and the WhatsApp inbox becomes the store.
An online store for grocery and kirana stores can be much simpler. Aiva Chat's store is a searchable catalog of what you sell, at your own address. You can build it quickly by importing your stock list and filling packaged goods by barcode. Customers search it, including in Hindi and Gujarati words typed in English, order on WhatsApp with one tap, send a monthly list, or reserve an item to collect. The AI assistant answers "do you have it" calls from the same catalog.
This guide covers how to build the catalog, how ordering works without a checkout, and what Aiva Chat deliberately doesn't do. It doesn't take payments and it doesn't run deliveries.
The store scenarios in this post are illustrative composites, not customer stories. Product names are used as everyday examples only.
What is an online store for a kirana or grocery shop?
In Aiva Chat, the store is a catalog: every product with its name, brand, pack size, price, availability and photo, in categories customers can browse. It's built for shops that sell in person and take orders by message, not for warehouse e-commerce.
Customers can act on any product without a checkout:
- Order on WhatsApp, a tap that opens WhatsApp with the product and quantity filled in.
- Reserve for pickup, asking you to keep an item until today or tomorrow.
- Request a quote, a list of up to 30 products with quantities, sent as one enquiry.
- Ask about this, a question that lands in your dashboard.
The grocery template comes with fields for pack size, diet, shelf life and where a product is made, and starter categories such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, staples, oils and ghee, spices and masalas, snacks, beverages, personal care and household. You can nest categories two levels, such as Staples, then Rice, Flour and Dal.
The store page lists everything the store does.
How to build a grocery catalog quickly
Step 1: Import your stock list
Most shops have a list somewhere, in billing software or a spreadsheet. Export it to CSV or Excel and import it with names, prices, categories and SKUs. Rows that match an existing SKU update that product; new rows arrive as drafts for you to check before they go on sale.
Step 2: Fill packaged goods by barcode
For branded packs, scan or type the barcode and the editor offers the name, brand and pack size from open product databases such as Open Food Facts. You check it before saving. The database's photo isn't copied, so take your own.
Step 3: Draft loose items from a photo
For loose or local items, take a photo and let AI draft the product for you to check, then set the price per kilogram, per piece, per dozen or per pack.
Step 4: Price the way you sell
Price per unit, from a price, in a range, in tiers, or on request. For packaged goods you can show the MRP struck through next to your price. Changes to price or stock from the product list go live straight away.
Step 5: Put it on sale and share the link
Put products on sale, print shelf QR labels and the door poster, and share your store link with regulars on WhatsApp.
Benefits for grocery and kirana stores
Fewer "do you have it" calls
Regulars can check the catalog before they call. The calls that do come in are answered by the assistant from the same catalog, with the product's price and the availability you've set.
Orders arrive written down
A WhatsApp order with the product name, pack size and quantity filled in is much clearer than "send the usual oil".
Monthly lists in one message
A request list lets a family send a whole month's list, with quantities, whether they want delivery and when. You get it as one enquiry to pack and price.
Search that understands your customers
Store search understands everyday words like doodh, dahi, atta, chawal and besan typed in English letters, along with spelling mistakes. A customer searching "doodh" finds "Amul Milk".
Found locally
Your store is sent to Google and linked from Aiva Find, a local directory of businesses on Aiva Chat.
A kirana store doesn't need a shopping cart. It needs regulars to know what's on the shelf and to send the order in a way you can read at a glance.
Kirana store use cases
These are illustrative examples of a normal week at a neighbourhood shop.
The evening stock check
Problem: A regular wants to know if fresh paneer came in today before walking over. How Aiva Chat handles it: On a call or website chat, the assistant searches the catalog and says whether paneer is in stock, low or out. It never promises stock it can't see. Outcome: No wasted trip, and no interruption at the counter.
The monthly list
Problem: A family sends their full monthly grocery list every first week. How Aiva Chat handles it: They build a request list from the store, choose delivery and a date, and send it. If you deliver, your team packs and delivers as usual; Aiva Chat doesn't arrange it. Outcome: One clear list with quantities, instead of a long voice note.
The quick WhatsApp order
Problem: A customer wants two packets of a particular biscuit and a litre of oil. How Aiva Chat handles it: They tap Order on WhatsApp on each product, and the messages arrive with the items and quantities. Outcome: You reply with a total and a pickup time.
The festival rush
Problem: Before a festival, everyone wants dry fruits, ghee and sugar at once. How Aiva Chat handles it: Mark items low or out of stock from the product list, and the assistant answers callers from the availability you've set. Outcome: Fewer disappointed customers and fewer repeat calls.
Catalog vs. delivery app vs. WhatsApp alone
| WhatsApp alone | Delivery app | Aiva Chat store | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Searchable list of what you sell | No | Yes | Yes, with Hindi and Gujarati words |
| Customer stays your customer | Yes | Shared with the app | Yes |
| Online payment | No | Yes | No, pay your usual way |
| Delivery | Your own | By the app | Your own, or pickup |
| Answers phone calls | No | No | Yes, from the same catalog |
| Cost | Free | Commission per order | From $49 a month plus your own AI and call usage |
WhatsApp alone keeps the customer relationship but gives them nothing to browse. A delivery app gives them a catalog, payment and delivery, but takes a cut and puts the app between you and your regulars.
The Aiva Chat store gives regulars a catalog and keeps orders coming to your own WhatsApp. If you rely on a delivery app for a share of orders, you can keep it; the store doesn't replace riders.
How to set up your grocery store in Aiva Chat
Step 1: Pick the grocery template
It sets units (kg, g, l, ml, piece, pack, dozen, box), fields and starter categories you can rename.
Step 2: Decide what to list first
Count your plan's limit. Starter allows 50 products on sale, Growth 200, Pro unlimited. Start with the items regulars ask about most, then add the rest.
Step 3: Import and scan
Import your stock list, scan barcodes for packaged goods, and add photos.
Step 4: Write your shop rules
Opening hours, delivery area and minimum order if you deliver, pickup timings and payment methods. The assistant answers only from what you write.
Step 5: Connect the assistant
Create an assistant with your OpenAI key, connect a Twilio number for calls, and add the chat to your website. If you don't have a website, the AI website builder builds one with your store at /shop and the web chat included.
Step 6: Share it
Print shelf QR labels and the door poster, and send your store link to your WhatsApp customers.
Common mistakes
Listing everything on day one
A store with 2,000 items and half of them wrong is worse than one with 100 correct ones. Start with what sells and what people ask about.
Letting stock drift
If the catalog says in stock and the shelf is empty, regulars stop trusting it. Update availability from the product list when things run out.
Listing restricted goods
Tobacco, alcohol and prescription-only medicines can't be listed in an Aiva Chat store. Keep them off the catalog.
Promising delivery you don't do
Aiva Chat doesn't run deliveries. If you're pickup only, say so in your store information.
Expecting texts
Reservation updates go by email. Texting is paused in Aiva Chat while US carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) is completed.
Best practices
- Use barcodes for every packaged item; it's faster and more accurate than typing.
- Show pack size on every product so "1 kg" or "500 ml" is never in doubt.
- Use MRP for packaged goods where customers expect to see it.
- Use low stock rather than out of stock when shelves are thin.
- Reply to WhatsApp orders fast; that's what makes the button work.
- Accept or decline pickups the same day.
- Review questions in Insights to see which items customers ask about that you haven't listed.
What the grocery store doesn't do
It's worth being plain about the edges, because regulars will ask.
The store doesn't take online payments, UPI collections or card details. Customers pay at the counter, on delivery if you deliver, or however you already take payment. It doesn't hold or count down stock when someone reserves an item or sends a list; your team checks the shelf and confirms. It doesn't assign delivery staff, plan routes or track orders. It doesn't connect to your billing software automatically, so stock and prices are kept current by import or by editing from the product list.
None of that is unusual for a kirana store. Most already work this way: the order arrives, someone checks the shelf, packs it, and settles up. The store's job is to make the first step, knowing what you have and sending a clear order, easier for the customer and quicker for you.
Conclusion
A neighbourhood grocery doesn't need a full online-shopping system to benefit from being online. It needs a catalog regulars can search, an easy way to send an order, and someone to answer the phone when the counter is busy. An online store for grocery and kirana stores in Aiva Chat covers that with spreadsheet import, barcode lookup, Hindi and Gujarati search words, one-tap WhatsApp orders, monthly request lists and pickup reservations.
Be clear about the limits. There's no online payment, no delivery service, and plan limits on how many products are on sale, so start with your most-asked items. Electronics and general retail shops face similar questions; see our posts on electronics stores and retail stores.
Ready to put your shelf online?
Start a 14-day free trial with no card, import your stock list and scan ten barcodes. The pricing page shows product limits for each plan. To work through a large import with someone, book a demo.
Written by
The Aiva Chat team
Aiva Chat
Posts from the people building Aiva Chat in Rajkot — how the product works, what we have learned building it, and guides for getting the most out of an AI receptionist.
Rajkot, India · at Aiva Chat since 2024
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