Retail Texting
Business Texting for Retail Businesses
Personal, Two-Way Texting Built for Retailers & Multi-Location Stores
Stop losing sales to busy phone lines, unanswered emails, and shoppers who never come back. Connect with customers instantly on the channel already in their hand. Answer product questions, send pickup and in-stock alerts, take payments, and keep regulars coming back, all with Captivated's conversation management platform.
Why Missed Calls & Ignored Emails are Costing You Sales & Repeat Customers
Shoppers research on their phones before they ever visit, and they expect answers as quickly as a retailer can give them. When the only options are a ringing phone on a busy sales floor or an inbox nobody checks until closing, they buy somewhere else.
The Question Nobody Answered
A shopper calls to ask whether you carry a size, a color, or a part. The phone rings on a busy floor while associates help customers in person. Your shopper hangs up and promptly orders from your competitor.
Special Orders Left Sitting
The item arrived, but the voicemail went unheard and the email went unread. Special orders and repairs sit on the back shelf for weeks, tying up inventory and cash, while staff keep trying to reach the customer.
Promotions Lost in the Inbox
Your sale announcement competed with 100s of other emails and landed in a promotions folder. Loyal customers who would have come in never saw it, and your marketing budget paid for messages nobody opened.
A Unified Inbox to Manage Your Real-Time Customer Conversations
Personal Shopping & Product Questions by Text
- Customers text a photo of what they're looking for, and associates reply with availability, alternatives, and photos straight from the sales floor.
- Every conversation comes from your store's recognizable number and stays on the store's record, so customer relationships and purchase history stay with the business, not on an associate's personal phone.
Order-Ready, Back-in-Stock & Pickup Alerts
- Notify customers the moment a special order, repair, alteration, or curbside pickup is ready. Customers reply to confirm a pickup time or ask a question in the same thread.
- Shoppers can text a keyword to join a waitlist for a popular item. A tag to their customer record ensures they are alerted the moment it's back on the shelf.
Invoice Holds, Deposits & Remote Checkout Payments
- Request payment directly inside the text thread to hold an item, take a special-order deposit, or complete a remote sale. Customers pay in seconds via Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit card, or direct bank transfer (ACH).
- Protect your margins by choosing to pass card convenience fees to the customer at checkout, or encourage low-cost ACH on larger purchases.
Targeted Promotions, In-Store QR Codes & Reviews
- Grow text enrollments with QR codes on counter cards, receipts, bags, and window clings. After a well-documented double opt-in, send branded MMS promotions featuring items customers bought or asked about.
- Follow up with a Google review request delivered at the moment customers are happiest, and watch reviews flow into your Captivated dashboard by location.
Keep Your Sales Floor, Back Office & Every Location in Perfect Sync
One shared business number brings your entire team onto the same page. Associates, buyers, and store managers can monitor, route, and respond to customer messages together, without anyone dropping context when the shift changes.
Private Internal Notes & @Mentions
Tag teammates privately inside active customer threads. An associate can tag the stockroom (e.g., @Receiving) to check whether a shipment arrived, or loop in a manager on a price adjustment, without the customer ever seeing the behind-the-scenes dialogue.
Multi-Location & Department Routing
Group incoming messages into routing folders such as Sales, Special Orders, Repairs, Returns, or individual store locations. Website visitors can choose their nearest store before the conversation even starts, so it lands with the right team the first time.
Proven Success from Independent & Multi-Location Retailers
Abt
“Their professional services team helped integrate Captivated with our Dispatch team. It has been a huge success. Our customers now have streamlined, textable access directly to our Dispatch team. The feedback from the customers has been positive."
– Logistics Manager
What Captivated Delivers for Retail Businesses
Inbound Product Questions
Traditional Baseline:
One phone call at a time on a busy sales floor
With Captivated:
Multiple simultaneous text conversations handled between in-person customers
Practical Impact
More questions answered and fewer shoppers lost to online competitors
Special Order Pickup
Traditional Baseline:
Days of voicemails before the customer is reached
With Captivated:
Order-ready text with replies in the same thread
Practical Impact
Inventory and cash stop sitting on the back shelf
Promotion Engagement
Traditional Baseline:
Promotional emails buried in a crowded inbox or promotions tab
With Captivated:
Targeted SMS and branded MMS sent to opted-in segments
Practical Impact
Your best customers actually see the offer
Local Search Reviews
Traditional Baseline:
Below 5% average organic review collection
With Captivated:
Up to a 40% response rate via post-purchase texts
Practical Impact
Drives local search rankings and foot traffic from nearby shoppers
Get Started
Up and Running in No Time
Every retailer is different. What stays the same is our commitment to helping you create better shopper experiences, streamline communication, and drive measurable growth, with a team invested in your success every step of the way.
Subscribe
Partnering with Captivated is just the beginning. From day one, our team works alongside you to ensure your account is configured for success and positioned to deliver immediate value for your business.
Train
Personalized onboarding, guided training, and self-service resources help your team discover just how much Captivated can do, building confidence and expertise that empower your business for years to come.
Launch
Go live quickly with a tailored implementation plan, then continue building momentum with ongoing guidance, new capabilities, and professional services designed to help your store grow alongside Captivated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We text-enable your existing landline or toll-free number within an hour. Voice calls, phone trees, and caller ID continue to work normally with zero disruption, so customers can call or text the exact same number they already know.
Only to customers who have given documented consent. Captivated captures double opt-in through QR codes, registration links, your website widget, and keywords, and honors STOP replies automatically. If your existing list lacks documented consent, we'll help you build enrollment paths that convert customers into properly opted-in contacts.
Yes. Send an Express Pay link in the thread to take a deposit, hold an item, or complete the sale. Customers pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or ACH from their phone, and the receipt stays in the conversation for pickup.
Each location can have its own number, queue, and team, or locations can share a number with routing by keyword or website widget selection. Managers can see activity across stores, and Google reviews can be filtered by location.
Captivated believes every employee who communicates with customers should have access to the same conversations and tools. Per-site licensing encourages organization-wide adoption instead of limiting access to only a handful of users. The result is better customer service, faster response times, and stronger collaboration across sales, service, office staff, and management.
Important Note: Captivated provides the communication infrastructure and security safeguards to support compliant workflows. Retail businesses are responsible for obtaining appropriate patient consent in accordance with TCPA and carrier guidelines, and defining internal communication protocols.
