# WhatsApp for bookshops, from special order to collection

> WYP.chat lets a bookshop reply as a team on the shop’s WhatsApp number: special orders by message, a message when the book arrives, and author events announced to readers who opted in. Your bookshop software keeps stock, tills and supplier orders, WYP.chat the conversations. Free plan, then €29 a month excl. VAT, with no charge per user.

**Your whole team, no seats to count.** With 5 people, the Team plan costs €99 a month excl. VAT, the same as with one. You pay Meta directly for its messages, with no markup.

Who it is for: independent bookshops, children’s bookshops, comic and manga shops, specialist bookshops, bookshops with stationery, second-hand bookshops.

## From special order to collection, on WhatsApp

Four moments when your readers already message the shop, and what the team does with those messages in WYP.chat.

### A book that is not on the shelf

A customer asks for a title you do not have. The bookseller orders it in their software and adds the “Ordered” tag to the conversation.

### “Your book has arrived”

A [message template](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary#modele) approved by Meta tells the customer, even if they have not written for days. The book waits at the till.

### Author events and signings

The invitation goes to readers who agreed to hear from you, with two reply buttons. You know how many chairs to put out.

### Reading recommendations

A gift idea, a novel for the holidays: the bookseller answers by message, as at the counter, and puts the books aside.

## Special orders: from message to collection

An ordered book should not sit on the reservations shelf because nobody called the customer. With a tag and a scenario, the message goes out when the box arrives.

WhatsApp allows free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. After that, a Meta-approved template has to reopen the conversation first.

1. **The bookseller logs the order**: In your software, as usual. In WYP.chat, they add the “Ordered” tag to the conversation and an internal note if needed.
2. **The book arrives**: When the box comes in, a team member swaps the tag for “Arrived”.
3. **The scenario tells the customer**: The “Arrived” tag sends the Meta-approved “your book has arrived” template, without anyone having to remember.
4. **The customer replies**: Their reply lands in the shared inbox. They pay at the till, or in advance with the “Pay” button.

## “Your book has arrived” and payment by link

The message that brings the customer back to the shop goes out on WhatsApp, instead of a call that ends in voicemail.

- **A utility template**: Create a “book arrived” template (first name, title) and submit it to Meta from WYP.chat. Once approved, anyone on the team can send it from the conversation.
- **What it costs**: Meta charges for each utility template delivered, at the rate of the customer’s country. WYP.chat adds no margin. Rates by country are in our pricing guide.
- **Sent automatically**: With a scenario, the “Arrived” tag sends the template. You can build your own on every plan: included from Solo, 2 credits per automated message on the Free plan.
- **Gift cards and paying remotely**: Paste your bank’s or card terminal’s payment link into a “Pay” button. WYP.chat takes no payments: the customer pays on your provider’s page, or at the till.
- **A review after the visit**: The “Review after resolution” scenario in the gallery asks for a rating from 1 to 5, then sends your Google listing link to customers who give 4 or 5.

## Your software keeps the stock, WYP.chat the conversations

Your bookshop software handles stock, tills and supplier orders. WYP.chat does not connect to it or read your stock: it looks after your customers’ messages.

- **One number for the whole team**: Unlimited users, each with their own login. Whoever runs the children’s section answers children’s questions, and every conversation has an owner.
- **Quick replies**: Opening hours, collection in store, ordering a book: the text goes out in two clicks, and anyone can adjust it before sending.
- **The reader’s history**: Their record keeps conversations and your notes: what they read, what they ordered, which series they are waiting for.
- **The AI agent for simple questions**: It answers about opening hours and collection from your sources, and hands over for a specific title or a price that is not in your sources.

## Author events, signings and book clubs, with consent

Announcing an event to every reader is tempting. Meta requires [opt-in](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary#opt-in) before you message people first, and local rules on electronic marketing apply as well.

- **A QR code at the till**: An “Offers sign-up” entry point: the reader scans it, sends the ready-written sentence, and their consent is recorded with proof.
- **Target**: One tag per taste (children’s, comics, crime), a segment, a scheduled campaign: 1,000 recipients a month on Solo. Contacts without consent are left out before sending.
- **Readers can opt out**: They reply STOP, or turn off marketing messages in WhatsApp: they are unsubscribed across the whole workspace, and nobody can reverse that for them.
- **Meta’s cost**: An invitation is a marketing template, charged by Meta per message delivered, by country. WYP.chat estimates the cost before each campaign.
- **Book club groups**: A WhatsApp group stays in the WhatsApp Business app: WYP.chat does not manage groups, but one-to-one conversations on the same number land in the shared inbox.

## WhatsApp Business app or WYP.chat?

The WhatsApp Business app runs on one main phone and up to 4 linked devices, with no way to assign conversations. WYP.chat opens the same number to the whole team, and the app can stay on the shop’s phone.

| Need | WhatsApp Business app | WYP.chat |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Several people replying | One main phone and up to 4 linked devices | Unlimited users, each with their own login |
| Pending special orders | Somewhere in the chat list | “Ordered” then “Arrived” tag on each conversation |
| Saying the book has arrived | Typed by hand | Approved template, sent by a team member or a scenario |
| Announcing an event | Broadcast list, no proof of consent | Campaign to signed-up readers, consent kept with proof |
| Who replied to whom | Everyone reads everything | One owner per conversation, internal notes |

## Get started in three steps

You can keep your current WhatsApp number, and the WhatsApp Business app stays on the shop’s phone.

1. **Create your workspace**: Email address and bookshop name, no card needed.
2. **Connect your WhatsApp number**: With your Meta account. While Meta reviews WYP.chat, our team connects it with you.
3. **Invite your team**: Unlimited users: booksellers, events manager, till staff.

## An AI agent for bookshops

The WYP.chat AI agents most useful for this industry, one per mission. Your team always stays in control.

### Coucou AI agent

Welcome · Available

Answers common questions (opening hours, collection in store, gift cards, upcoming events) from your information and hands over for a specific title.

### Veilleur AI agent

When you are closed · Available

When the bookshop is closed, replies right away with your reopening time and passes the request to your team for when you reopen.

### Stock AI agent

Availability · Coming soon

Will say whether a book is on the shelf and put it aside when you allow it.

### Bravo AI agent

Customer reviews · Coming soon

Will thank customers after a purchase, ask for a review and alert you if someone is unhappy.

Coucou and Allô are available today on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and your website chat, and Veilleur replies when you are closed, with your reopening time. The other agents are coming soon.

[WhatsApp AI agents by industry](https://wyp.chat/en/ai-agents)

Recommended plan

## Solo, €29 a month excl. VAT

Unlimited conversations, custom scenarios and campaigns for your events. Move to Team (€99 excl. VAT) to split the shop floor and events into teams with their own response times, or for 3 numbers.

[See all pricing](https://wyp.chat/en/pricing)

## Questions from booksellers

### Does WYP.chat replace our bookshop software?

No. Your software keeps stock, tills and supplier orders. WYP.chat receives your customers’ WhatsApp messages and shares them out. The two are not connected: the bookseller logs the order in their software and adds the tag in WYP.chat.

### What are the drawbacks of WhatsApp Business for a bookshop?

The app runs on one main phone and up to 4 linked devices, every chat lands in the same list and nobody owns them: an order promised on Saturday can be forgotten by Tuesday. With the API, which WYP.chat uses, those limits go, but a message sent more than 24 hours after the customer’s last message must be a paid, Meta-approved template.

### How much does the “your book has arrived” message cost?

Within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, a free-form reply costs nothing, up to 1,000 a month per number. After that you need a utility template, which Meta charges at the rate of the customer’s country. WYP.chat is free up to 50 conversations a month, then €29 a month excl. VAT on Solo.

### Can we announce an event to all our customers?

Only to those who agreed to hear from you. A QR code at the till or on the event poster collects that consent with proof. Contacts without consent are left out before sending, and anyone can reply STOP.

### Our book club has a WhatsApp group: what changes?

Nothing for the group: it stays in the WhatsApp Business app, because WYP.chat does not manage groups. One-to-one messages from club members, on the other hand, land in the shared inbox.

### Can customers pay for their order remotely?

Yes, if you have a payment link from your bank or provider: paste it into a “Pay” button. WYP.chat takes no payments; the customer pays on your provider’s page and collects the book in store.

## Similar industries

### [WhatsApp for shops](https://wyp.chat/en/industries/retail)

An item put aside by message, paid by link and collected in store. Several staff reply on the shop’s number.

### [WhatsApp for online shops](https://wyp.chat/en/industries/ecommerce)

WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, website chat and email in one inbox: pre-purchase questions, orders, payment links and shipping updates. Shopify is coming soon.

### [WhatsApp ordering for restaurants](https://wyp.chat/en/industries/restaurants)

The WhatsApp catalogue basket becomes an order to confirm, the summary goes out in the customer’s language and the payment link is one tap away.

## How to do it in WYP.chat

Help centre articles that walk through each setting, screen by screen.

- [Write to a customer after 24 hours](https://wyp.chat/en/help/modeles-24h)
- [Create a scenario](https://wyp.chat/en/help/creer-workflow)
- [WhatsApp links and QR codes: entry points](https://wyp.chat/en/help/points-entree)
- [Send a WhatsApp campaign](https://wyp.chat/en/help/lancer-campagne)

- [WhatsApp Business use cases: every industry](https://wyp.chat/en/industries)
- [WhatsApp Business guides, one question at a time](https://wyp.chat/en/guides)
- [The whole WYP.chat help centre](https://wyp.chat/en/help)

**Guides**

- [WhatsApp Business with multiple users](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-business-multiple-users)
- [WhatsApp message pricing](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-message-pricing)
- [WhatsApp auto reply](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-business-auto-reply)

**WYP.chat**

- [WhatsApp campaigns](https://wyp.chat/en/features/whatsapp-campaigns)
- [Scenarios](https://wyp.chat/en/features/workflows)
- [Teamwork](https://wyp.chat/en/features/teamwork)
- [Pricing](https://wyp.chat/en/pricing)

## Official sources

1. WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business policy: [whatsappbusiness.com/policy/](https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/)
2. Meta, getting opt-in for WhatsApp: [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/getting-opt-in/](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/getting-opt-in/)
3. Meta, pricing for non-template messages: [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages)

Pages checked on 13 October 2026.

---

Source: https://wyp.chat/en/industries/bookshops · Updated on 16 October 2026