Why shops turn to WhatsApp
Your customers read WhatsApp every hour. They rarely read SMS and almost never email. So when a regular has not come in for a month, or it is their birthday, or you have a festival offer, WhatsApp is where a message will be seen. The problem is doing it by hand: copying numbers, typing the same message forty times, and forgetting half the birthdays.
WhatsApp marketing for retail shops works when the messages come from your billing, to people who have actually bought from you, at the right moment. It goes wrong when a shop buys a number list and blasts strangers. That gets numbers blocked and annoys people. Send only to your own customers.
The four ways Cartix Prime sends WhatsApp messages
| Way | Plan | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp links | Every plan | One press opens WhatsApp with the message ready. You press send. |
| From this computer | Silver and up, and Cartix Prime Offline | Uses your shop's own WhatsApp on the Windows app. Sends slowly. Never sends campaigns. At your own risk. |
| Your own WhatsApp Business API | Gold and up | WhatsApp's official way for businesses. Meta charges per message. |
| Cartix Prime's number | Platinum; Gold on credits | Messages go from Cartix Prime's number instead of yours. |
1. WhatsApp links (every plan)
This is the simple, safe way and it is on every plan, from Starter. One press opens WhatsApp with the message already written, through wa.me, the WhatsApp app for Windows, or WhatsApp Web. The cashier presses send. Bills go this way as a link, and so do payment reminders for credit customers. Every WhatsApp bill ends "Billed with Cartix Prime". See WhatsApp billing.
2. From this computer (Silver and up)
The Windows app can link the shop's own WhatsApp and send the messages that are waiting, one after another, slowly. It never sends campaigns. This is not WhatsApp's official way, so it is off until the shop turns it on after reading a warning. The risk is real: WhatsApp can block the number. If your shop number matters to you, think hard before using it, and keep the volume low.
3. The shop's own WhatsApp Business API (Gold)
This is WhatsApp's official route for businesses, connected to your own number. Meta charges for messages sent this way, per message, and those charges are separate from your Cartix Prime plan. It suits a shop that sends regularly and wants messages to come from its own name.
4. Cartix Prime's number (Platinum, or Gold on credits)
On Platinum, messages can go from Cartix Prime's number, so the shop does not need to set up its own API. Gold shops can use it too, on credits.
Automatic wishes and campaigns
On Gold, the customer CRM can send automatic WhatsApp messages:
- birthday and anniversary wishes
- a welcome after a customer's first bill
- a win-back message to customers who have stopped coming
- a feedback link after a purchase
- an optional coupon with any of these
On Platinum, CRM Pro adds campaigns: a message to a group of customers chosen by rules, each campaign with its own coupon. Campaigns are never sent through the "from this computer" way.
How to set it up
- Save customers with their phone numbers when you bill them. Add birthdays where customers are happy to share them.
- Choose your sending way. Start with WhatsApp links; move to the official API or Cartix Prime's number when you send more.
- On Gold, switch on the automatic messages you want, and add a coupon if you like. Coupons come from offers and discounts.
- On Platinum, build a segment and send a campaign to it.
Good habits that protect your shop
- Message only people who bought from you and gave you their number.
- Keep messages few and useful: a bill, a reminder, a wish, an offer they would want.
- Stop messaging anyone who asks you to.
- Do not use a bought list of numbers, on any of the four ways.
Think of a bakery in Kochi that sends a birthday wish with a small coupon for a cake. That is welcome. The same bakery sending an offer every day to everyone would soon be muted.
Who this suits and which plan
Every shop that sends bills on WhatsApp is already using the first way, on any plan. Automatic wishes and win-back messages suit supermarkets, kirana stores, bakeries, pharmacies and fancy shops with regulars, and need Gold (₹8,999 a year with a computer and phone, or ₹1,899 on a phone only). Campaigns and Cartix Prime's number need Platinum (₹12,999, or ₹2,599 on a phone only). Prices are before 18% GST, and Meta's API charges are extra. See the pricing page or start with Cartix Prime, free for 7 days.
Questions people ask
Can billing software send birthday wishes on WhatsApp automatically?
Yes. Cartix Prime on Gold and Platinum can send automatic birthday and anniversary wishes, a welcome after the first bill, win-back messages and a feedback link, each with an optional coupon.
Is WhatsApp Business API free for shops?
No. Meta charges per message sent through the WhatsApp Business API. In Cartix Prime the shop can connect its own API on Gold, and those Meta charges are separate from the plan price.
Can I send WhatsApp campaigns to my customers from Cartix Prime?
Yes, on Platinum with CRM Pro: you send a campaign to a rule-based group of customers, each with its own coupon. Campaigns are never sent through the “from this computer” way.
Will my WhatsApp number get blocked?
It can, if you send through unofficial tools or message people who did not ask. Cartix Prime’s “from this computer” way is not WhatsApp’s official route and is used at the shop’s own risk. WhatsApp links and the official API are safer. Send only to your own customers.
Can I send bills on WhatsApp on the cheapest plan?
Yes. WhatsApp links are on every plan, including Starter. One press opens WhatsApp with the bill link ready to send.