"Do you have the size 9 running shoes in black?" "What size bat for a twelve-year-old?" "We need twenty football jerseys for the under-14 team, can you quote?" "Is the badminton racket on the website still in stock?" A sports goods store hears these questions every day, and more of them when a season starts, a school term opens or a local tournament is a fortnight away.
Most sports shops sell in person because customers want to hold the bat, try on the shoes and feel the grip. But they want to check stock and sizes before they travel, and coaches want a quote for the whole team without three phone calls. A general e-commerce site with shipping and payments rarely matches that, and posting stock photos on social media doesn't help anyone find a size 9.
An online store for sports goods stores can be built around how you actually sell. Aiva Chat's store is a searchable catalog of your kit, organised by sport, with sizes, colours and brands as options and details. Customers reserve an item to try on, order on WhatsApp with the size filled in, or send a team request list with quantities. The AI assistant answers calls and website chat from the same catalog. This guide covers how that works, and what Aiva Chat doesn't do: it takes no online payments and doesn't ship.
The sports shops and scenarios in this post are illustrative composites, not real customers. Brand names are used as everyday examples only.
What is an online store for a sports goods store?
In Aiva Chat, the store is a catalog at your workspace address under /shop that customers search, sort and filter by brand and product details. The AI assistant reads it when it answers calls and chats. It's not a checkout. Customers can:
- Reserve for pickup: keep an item in a chosen size to try on and collect today or tomorrow.
- Order on WhatsApp: one tap opens WhatsApp with the product, size and quantity filled in.
- Request a quote: send one list of up to 30 products with sizes and quantities, which suits team orders.
- Ask about this: send a question about a product to your dashboard.
Each product has up to six photos, a price, up to three options such as size, colour and weight, a stock status, a brand, a model number, a condition and up to 20 details of your own, such as material, weight, grip size or suitable surface. Details show as a specs table, are read by the AI and are sent to Google. See the store feature list.
How to build a sports goods catalog
Step 1: Set up categories by sport
Nest categories two levels deep: Cricket, then Bats, Balls and Protective gear; Football, then Boots, Balls and Jerseys; Racket sports; Running; Fitness; Swimming. Up to 200 categories in all.
Step 2: Import your stock list
Export your stock or a supplier sheet to CSV or Excel and import names, prices, categories and SKUs, or import a Shopify or WooCommerce export. Matching SKUs update existing products, and new rows arrive as drafts.
Step 3: Draft the rest from photos
For items without a spreadsheet row, take a photo and AI drafts the product for you to check. Add your own photos so customers see the actual item.
Step 4: Add sizes and colours as options
One running shoe is one product with size and colour options, not twenty products. Each combination can have its own price and SKU, and the page can show a from price.
Step 5: Price the way you sell
Use a fixed price, a from price, quantity tiers for balls, shuttles and socks, or price on request for custom printed team kit. Price and stock changes from the product list go live straight away.
Step 6: Put it on sale and share it
Put products on sale, print shelf QR labels for display walls, and share your store link with local clubs, academies and schools.
Benefits for sports goods stores
Size questions answered without the stockroom trip
When sizes are options with their own stock status, the assistant can answer "do you have a size 9?" on a call. Staff stay with the customer in the shop.
Team orders that arrive complete
A coach's request list with sizes and quantities is much easier to quote than a voice note listing twenty players. You reply with a quote, a collection date and any team discount.
Try-on reservations that bring people in
Most sports kit is bought after a try. A reservation for tomorrow gives a customer a reason to come in and gives you their name and email.
Season starts handled calmly
When a new term or season starts, everyone asks for the same items. Mark low stock and pre-orders from the product list, and callers hear the current status.
Calls answered in 13 languages
The AI phone agent answers stock and size questions in 13 languages, up to 2 calls at once on Starter, 5 on Growth and 20 on Pro.
Nobody buys a cricket bat without picking it up. The catalog's job is to make sure the right one is waiting when they do.
Sports goods store use cases
These examples are composites of a normal season at a local sports shop.
The under-14 football team
Problem: A coach needs eighteen jerseys in four sizes, eighteen pairs of socks and five balls. How Aiva Chat handles it: The coach builds a request list with sizes and quantities and sends it as one enquiry. Outcome: Your team checks stock, applies your team price, and replies with a quote.
The parent buying a first bat
Problem: A parent doesn't know which bat size suits a twelve-year-old. How Aiva Chat handles it: The assistant shares the size guide you've written, lists the bats in that size, and offers to reserve two to try on Saturday. Outcome: The child tries both and leaves with the right one.
The runner checking a size
Problem: A runner wants to know if a shoe is in stock in size 10 before travelling across town. How Aiva Chat handles it: On website chat, the assistant checks the size option's stock status and shows the product card. Outcome: A reservation instead of a wasted trip.
The tournament rush
Problem: A local tournament means everyone wants shuttles and grips the same week. How Aiva Chat handles it: You set quantity tiers and mark low stock. The assistant answers from the live status and tiers. Outcome: Fewer repeat calls and clearer bulk orders.
Catalog vs. full e-commerce vs. a supplier's price list
| Supplier price list | Full e-commerce site | Aiva Chat store | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Searchable by sport, brand and size | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sizes and colours with their own stock | No | Yes | Yes, up to 3 options per product |
| Team and bulk quote requests | By phone | Rarely | Yes, up to 30 products with quantities |
| Reserve to try on in the shop | No | Sometimes | Yes, today or tomorrow |
| Answers calls from the catalog | No | No | Yes |
| Online payment and shipping | No | Yes | No, pay in the shop |
If most of your sales ship across the country, a full e-commerce site fits better. If customers come in to try kit and teams order through coaches, a catalog with reservations and quote requests matches how a local sports shop already sells.
How to set up your sports store in Aiva Chat
Step 1: List the high-demand items first
Count your plan's limit: 50 products on sale on Starter, 200 on Growth and unlimited on Pro. Sizes are options, so one shoe in twelve sizes is one product.
Step 2: Write your shop information
Opening hours, exchange policy for sizes, team discounts, printing turnaround, payment methods and whether you deliver. The assistant answers only from what you write.
Step 3: Add size guides
Write simple size guidance for bats, shoes, jerseys and rackets. The assistant shares it on calls and chats.
Step 4: Add your WhatsApp number and pickup locations
Add the number orders should go to and the locations customers can collect from.
Step 5: Connect the assistant
Create an assistant with your OpenAI key, connect a Twilio number, and add the chat to your website.
Step 6: Test with a team order
Send a request list for a full squad and check what arrives in your dashboard. Then call and ask for a size you don't have.
Common mistakes sports shops make
One product per size
Separate products for every size clutter search and use up your product limit. Use options.
No size guidance
If you don't write size guidance, the assistant can't give it. A short chart by age or height saves many calls.
Quoting custom kit as a fixed price
Printed team kit depends on numbers, names and logos. Use price on request and quote each order.
Listing weapons with outdoor gear
Air guns, hunting knives and ammunition can't be listed in an Aiva Chat store. Keep them off the catalog.
Expecting texts
Reservation updates go by email. Texting is paused in Aiva Chat while US carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) is completed.
Best practices for selling sports goods through a catalog
- Fill in details such as weight, material and grip size; customers and the AI search on them.
- Mark sizes out of stock as soon as they go.
- Use quantity tiers for balls, shuttles and team socks.
- Use pre-order with a date for new-season stock.
- Accept or decline reservations quickly so customers know whether to travel.
- Check Insights for kit people ask about that you don't list.
- Get listed on Aiva Find so local players and coaches find your shop.
Add a website and bookings
If you don't have a website, the AI website builder writes one from a few questions, with your store at /shop and the website chat built in. It's sent to Google and lives at your workspace aivachat.io address. If you also string rackets, knock in bats or fit shoes by appointment, add those as services with bookings and customers can book a time on your booking page. For the gyms and academies your customers train at, see our posts on gyms and fitness studios and martial arts schools.
The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry represents brands, makers and retailers worldwide and is a useful reference for the wider industry.
Conclusion
A sports goods store sells kit that customers want to try, in sizes that run out, often to coaches buying for a whole team at once. An online store for sports goods stores built as a searchable catalog handles that: sport-based categories, sizes and colours as options with their own stock, quantity prices, team request lists, reservations to try on, and WhatsApp orders with the size filled in. The AI assistant answers calls and chats from the same catalog.
The limits are worth stating plainly. Aiva Chat doesn't take online payments or arrange shipping. Reservations and request lists don't lock stock, so your team confirms. And the assistant only shares the size guidance and policies you write.
Start with the fifty items you sell most, add your size guides, and send yourself a team request list.
Ready to put your kit wall online?
Start a 14-day free trial with no card, import your stock list and test a team quote. The pricing page shows product limits for each plan, or book a demo to walk through your catalog with us.
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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