WhatsApp is where Sri Lankan retail actually happens. Not a website, not a marketplace — a chat thread. These are the parts that decide whether a chat becomes a sale.
1. Answer fast, or lose the sale
Enquiries do not wait. Someone asking about a shirt at 9pm will message three shops, and the first useful reply usually wins. Late-night and weekend messages are where most shops quietly lose business.
2. Quote real prices, never “inbox please”
Hiding the price to force a conversation costs more sales than it creates. Give the price, the sizes and a photo in the first reply.
3. Take the whole address before confirming
An order you cannot ship is not an order. Before saying "confirmed", you need four things:
- 1The customer’s name as it should appear on the parcel.
- 2The full delivery address, including the town.
- 3A contact number for the courier, if different from the WhatsApp number.
- 4Any landmark or delivery note — Sri Lankan addresses often need one.
4. Get the cash-on-delivery amount right
On cash on delivery, the figure on the waybill is the figure the courier collects. If the customer was quoted goods plus delivery, that combined amount must be what the shop records — otherwise you eat the delivery fee on every parcel or argue at the door.
This is a surprisingly common leak. A shop quotes LKR 5,200 for the item and mentions LKR 350 delivery in passing, then writes 5,200 on the waybill. Three hundred and fifty rupees, every single order.
5. Keep one thread per customer
When someone comes back a week later, they expect you to remember what they were looking at. Scrolling to find it is slow; a system that keeps the thread is faster and makes the shop look professional.