The problems retail businesses face
- The same questions all day. "Is this in stock?", "How much is delivery to Lekki?" Most arrive on WhatsApp, many after closing time, and a slow reply is a lost sale.
- Orders scattered across chats. The order is in one thread, the transfer screenshot in another, and nobody knows which orders are paid.
- Stock that does not match the shelf. An item sells online after the last one left the shop.
- No picture of your customers. You cannot tell who your regulars are or who has gone quiet.
- More than one branch. A shop in Ikeja and another in Wuse, each with its own stock and its own spreadsheet.
How NETICS solves them
Answers from your own catalogue
Add products in NETICS CRM > Products, import a price list, or press Read my website and NETICS adds the priced products it finds. The catalogue is the only list your NETICS agent sells from, at your prices. Delivery areas, returns and opening hours come from your Knowledge Base. Your agent replies in English, Nigerian Pidgin, Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa, and when it cannot answer it hands the customer to your team instead of guessing. See AI customer agents.
Orders that move through your own steps
On the Orders page, press Order flow and choose Products and parcels: New, Confirmed, Packing, Ready to ship, Shipped, Delivered. Rename any step under Name the steps your way. In your website chat, NETICS gathers the items and contact details, shows a summary, and creates the order and a secure payment link only after the customer says yes. The last step stays locked until payment is verified, and a paid order comes off your stock count. Money settles to the bank account you add under Integrations > Get paid to your bank; NETICS takes 0% of your sales. See Orders and payments.
WhatsApp, where your customers already are
Once your number is connected, NETICS answers customer questions on WhatsApp from the same knowledge. Every chat lands in the Omnichannel Inbox, where a staff member can press Take over from NETICS and then Send payment link. New-order alerts reach your own phone, and you can reply CONFIRM ORD-... or STATUS ORD-... without opening the console. See WhatsApp.
Customers you can actually see
Every buyer becomes a customer record with orders, conversations, a VIP flag and a loyalty tier, and insight cards show top spenders and paying customers silent for 90 days (NETICS CRM). Win them back with email or SMS broadcasts to customers who opted in (Email and SMS broadcasts).
Stock, invoices and branches
ERP Route > Inventory records every change as a movement with a reason: receipts, sales, returns, counts, and wastage marked Spoiled, Broken, Expired or Lost. Set a reorder point and NETICS tells you once a day while a line runs low. Stock sent to another branch shows as in transit until that shop confirms it. Raise invoice on any order creates its Finance invoice. See ERP and finance.
An example day
A boutique in Lekki with a second shop in Abuja:
- 7:40. A customer asks on WhatsApp whether a handbag comes in black. NETICS answers before anyone is at work.
- 11:00. A shopper orders two pairs of sandals in the website chat, replies yes to the summary and pays through the link. The owner's phone gets the alert and she replies
CONFIRM. - 13:30. The Abuja shop is low on a perfume. Inventory has already flagged it, and the manager starts a transfer from Lagos.
- 16:00. A WhatsApp customer wants three items. A staff member takes over in the inbox and sends a payment link.
- 19:30. The owner asks NETICS Chat, "What sold best this week?" and gets the figures by product.
Which plan fits
Starter (NGN 50,000 a month) covers a single shop: one NETICS agent on your website and WhatsApp with 1,500 AI answers a month, three seats, NETICS CRM, products, orders, payment links, Finance and ten automations at a time. Changing stock in Inventory needs Growth. Pay as you go has Starter's features with one seat and no monthly fee: you pay from credits as you use them, 3 credits (NGN 45) for each AI answer.
Growth (NGN 200,000 a month) suits more than one branch: Inventory, Procurement, Payroll and Accounts, 10,000 AI answers a month, email campaigns with no per-email charge (SMS is NGN 10 a message from credits on every plan), Ads Center, a phone number answered by NETICS, Analytics, and business agents that flag stuck orders and low stock.
Enterprise is agreed with the NETICS team and adds Website Builder with the "Online shop" layout and subscriptions you sell to customers. The 3-day free trial needs no card. Compare plans on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Can NETICS take orders on WhatsApp by itself?
Not yet. On WhatsApp, NETICS answers questions, including what it knows about your products, and passes buyers to your team when they are ready to pay. A staff member then sends a secure payment link from the Omnichannel Inbox. In your website chat, NETICS takes the order and creates the link itself.
Is there a retail template to set up first?
No. The industry you pick is a label for your dashboard. What shapes the workspace is how you sell: choose "Sells fixed products" during onboarding and NETICS prepares an order workflow and lets your agent take orders and create checkouts. You can change the order flow at any time.
When do I get the money?
The payment link opens a hosted checkout from NETICS's payment partner, and the money settles to your verified bank account on the provider's schedule, usually the next business day. NETICS takes nothing from your sales; the payment company's own fee applies.
Does it work with my existing website?
Yes. Paste one snippet into your site, including WordPress, Shopify, Wix and Webflow sites, and the NETICS chat appears. A site you build yourself can also read your catalogue through the products API on the developer platform, so the website and your agent sell the same list.