Checking the size for every enquiry
"Do you have this model in 41?" means a trip to the stockroom or a call to the other store, every time, even when the answer is the same as ten minutes ago.
CRM by industry · Shoe store
Shoe store automation: sizes, reservations and exchanges without manual work
In a shoe store almost every conversation with a customer is about a size: whether it is in stock, whether it can be kept until tomorrow, when the 38 is coming back, whether it can be swapped for a 39. These processes can be automated — the reply, the reservation, the waiting list, the exchange, the top-up order to the supplier — and the tool underneath is a tailored CRM, not yet another chat.
What does automating a shoe store mean?
Automating a shoe store means that repetitive questions about sizes and stock get answered without the sales assistant checking the shelf, that a reservation on a pair has a deadline and releases the item by itself, that a customer waiting for a size is notified automatically when it comes back, that exchanges and returns are tracked through to closure, and that orders to the supplier start from the sizes that actually sold. All of this needs a place where customers, requested pairs and statuses live — that place is a customised CRM, connected to your stock and your channels.
Which processes are done by hand in a shoe store
Before automating anything, we look at what the sales assistants repeat many times a day:
The pair set aside with no deadline
The box sits under the counter "for a lady coming tomorrow". Nobody knows until when, who promised it or whether the lady is still coming; meanwhile someone else asks for the same pair.
The customer waiting for a size is forgotten
"Call me when the 38 comes in" goes on a scrap of paper. The goods arrive, the note is nowhere to be found, the customer has bought elsewhere.
The size exchange gets lost between deliveries
The customer received a 40 and wants a 41. Who sends the new pair, who receives the old one, when the exchange was closed — the information is in a chat with the courier.
The supplier order is made on impressions
The models that "seem to sell" get reordered, not the sizes that ran out first. The result: extreme sizes on the shelf and mid sizes sold out.
What information the automation is built on
Automation does not run on missing data. What must exist and be correct in the CRM:
- Model and size: every pair requested or sold is linked to a model and a size, not to free text.
- Availability: stock per size, per store, from a source that is kept up to date (inventory software, online store or periodic import).
- Demand: who asked about which model and size, on which channel, and what answer they got.
- Reservation: the pair, until when, which store, which assistant promised it, what happened on expiry.
- Waiting list: customers who want to be told about a specific model and size, with their contact channel.
- Delivery order and exchange: address, courier, pair sent, pair returned, reason, status.
- Sales by size: which sizes sold from each model and how quickly, as the basis for the supplier order.
What gets automated in practice
The order in which we switch them on in a shoe store, from the simplest to the one that needs clean data:
Automatic reply to the size question
When a customer writes on Instagram or the website "do you have model X in 41?", the CRM checks availability in the stock source and sends a prepared reply: it is in stock at store Y, or it is not, but they can be notified when it comes back. The assistant steps in only if a conversation is needed.
Reserving a pair with a deadline
The reservation takes one click, has a deadline (for example 24 hours), the customer receives a confirmation, and on expiry the pair is released automatically and the morning shift sees the list.
Notification when the size comes back
A customer who asked for a missing size goes on the waiting list. When stock shows the size again, they get an automatic message with the option to reserve.
Size exchange tracked through to closure
On an exchange request, the CRM opens a flow: reserve the new pair, generate the courier order, wait for the return, close when the old pair is back in stock. Whoever handles deliveries sees all open exchanges in one list.
Proposed supplier order
Weekly, the CRM shows for each model the sizes sold, those remaining and those requested from the waiting list, and proposes top-up quantities. The manager adjusts and sends.
Report by model and size
Which models sold out in mid sizes in the first week, which models are not moving, which sizes are returned most often — automatically, in the same format.
Example workflow
- A customer writes in Direct on Sunday: "the model from the post, do you have a 42?".
- The CRM identifies the model from the post and checks stock: no 42, but it is expected from the supplier next week. The automatic reply offers a spot on the waiting list; the customer accepts.
- On Wednesday, the goods arrive and stock is updated. The CRM messages the customer: "the 42 in model X is back, would you like us to hold it for 24 hours?". The customer confirms, the pair is reserved.
- The customer asks for delivery to Bălți. The assistant converts the reservation into a delivery order; the customer receives the summary and, on handover, the estimated date.
- The pair is too small; the customer asks for a 43. The exchange is started from the order card: the 43 is reserved, the courier is called, the return of the 42 is expected and confirmed when it is back in stock.
- On Friday, in the proposed supplier order, model X shows sizes 42 and 43 sold out and two customers on the waiting list.
What changes after implementation
What employees do differently
- The assistant no longer answers "do you have this size?" by hand; they step in only when the customer wants advice or has a special situation.
- Reservations have a deadline and their list clears itself; nobody hunts for boxes "set aside" with no name on them.
- Customers waiting for a size are notified by the system, not from scraps of paper.
- Size exchanges are on a list with a status, not in the chat with the courier.
What the manager sees
- How many size enquiries were answered automatically and how many needed a person.
- Purchased reservations versus expired ones, per store and per assistant.
- The waiting list by model and size — the real demand you do not see in sales.
- The proposed supplier order based on sizes sold, not on impressions.
Integrations the automation cannot work without
In a shoe store, the stock source is the key integration; without it, the rest are just notifications:
- Existing database / inventory softwareWe read availability by model and size from the inventory software, the online store or a periodic export. The automatic reply, the waiting list and the proposed order all start from here.
- Instagram and Facebook (Meta)Enquiries from Direct and comments enter as requests with the model identified, so the automatic reply has something to refer to.
- Website / online storeThe "notify me when it is back" form and website orders feed the waiting list and the delivery queue directly.
- TelephonyThe call opens the customer's card with their reservations and waiting list; the assistant sees on the spot what they asked for last time.
- Telegram for the teamReservations expiring today, open exchanges and the proposed supplier order reach the assistants and the manager on their phones.
- AI, optionalIdentifying the model from a screenshot or a vague description ("the beige ones with the thick sole in the window"), so the request is linked to the right model before the automatic reply.
Why a customised CRM rather than a generic one
Automating a shoe store gets stuck in a generic CRM at the very first step: there is no "model + size" as an object, no reservation with a deadline and no waiting list by size. They can be simulated with text fields, but then the automatic reply has nothing to check stock against, and the "the 38 is back" notification has nobody to go to. A customised CRM starts from sizes and stock, and the automations are built on top of data that actually means something.
- Size is a structured field on every request, reservation and sale, not a word in the notes.
- The reservation and the waiting list are flows with a deadline and a notification, not labels.
- The link to the stock source is part of the project, not a generic "connector".
- Reports are by model and size — that is, by what matters for the supplier order.
What this CRM does not do
- It does not replace the inventory software or the cash register. It reads availability from there; if there is no reliable stock source, the automatic reply cannot be switched on and we start with reservations and the waiting list.
- It does not send orders to the supplier on its own. It prepares the proposal by size; the manager checks it and sends it.
- It is not an online store. Orders from the website or Instagram enter the CRM, but online payment and the catalogue stay on your platform.
Frequently asked questions
How long does automating a shoe store take?
A standard customised CRM can be implemented in roughly 14 days, depending on integrations and process complexity. Connecting the stock source is the part that can extend the timeline if the data is not clean.
Can anything be automated without inventory software?
Yes, partly. Reservations with a deadline, a waiting list with manual notification when goods arrive, tracked exchanges and reports by size all work without a stock integration. The automatic reply to "do you have this size?" needs a stock source.
Does the customer get an automatic reply even if they want to talk to someone?
The automatic reply covers the availability question. If the customer writes something else or asks for advice, the request goes to the assistant with the full context.
Can in-store exchanges be tracked too, not just courier ones?
Yes. An in-store exchange is the same flow without the courier steps: the new pair goes out, the old pair comes in, and the customer's card keeps the reason.
How much does the automation cost?
It depends on integrations (first of all the stock source and Meta), the number of users and how many automations we switch on. After a 45–60 minute conversation we tell you exactly what goes into the quote.
Continue with
Want to see the automation on your own store?
We'll show you, on a model from your stock, how a size enquiry gets its reply, how the pair is reserved and how the notification goes out when the size is back. No commitment.
- A 45–60 minute conversation about how you answer enquiries today and how you keep stock
- An honest recommendation: what can be automated now and what needs clean data first
- A clear quote after the conversation, based on integrations and automations