Comments are a sales channel, not a chore
Most tools treat comments as noise. Paperflower reads every one, spots buying questions like “do you ship to NZ?” and makes sure they get answered before the customer moves on.
Shopify customer service: a simple setup for small brands
Good customer service sells. Most small Shopify brands lose sales not because they answer badly, but because a question sits unanswered in a comment or DM until the customer moves on. This guide shows a simple setup that works for a founder or a small team.
Updated 29 September 2026
Where your customers ask questions
- Comments on your Instagram and Facebook posts and ads. This is where most pre-sale questions land.
- Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger.
- Your support email, where order questions like 'where is my order?' arrive.
- Shopify Inbox or another chat widget on your store, if you use one.
What to answer first
- Buying questions: stock, sizes, colours, shipping times and costs. These are sales waiting to happen.
- Problems: damaged items, late orders, wrong sizes. Answer quickly and move anything private to a DM or email.
- Everything else: compliments, tags and thank-yous. Reply when you have time, or like them.
- Spam and scams: hide them so they do not sit under your ads.
The answers to have ready
- Shipping: where you ship, how long it takes to Australia and New Zealand, and what it costs.
- Returns and exchanges: the window, the condition, and who pays for postage.
- Sizing and product care.
- Order tracking: how customers find their tracking link.
- What happens with a damaged or faulty item.
Rules that keep you safe
- Never post someone's order details in a public comment. Move it to a DM or email.
- Keep refunds and cancellations with a person, not a bot.
- Answer complaints quickly and in private. A calm reply turns most of them around.
Tools that help
Shopify's free Shopify Inbox covers chat on your store. For comments, DMs and email together, you need an inbox that pulls them into one place.
Paperflower puts every Instagram and Facebook comment, DM and support email in one list, sorts them so buying questions come first, and has a reply ready with your Shopify order details. You press Send. See how it works.
How Paperflower is different
Buying Intent and Opportunity Score
Every conversation gets a score so the people ready to buy come first. You see who to reply to now, and who can wait.
Shopify context in every draft
Order status, shipping and product details are pulled in automatically, so drafts are right the first time and private order details never go out in public.
You stay in control
AI drafts are on and auto-send is off by default. Complaints are escalated to you. Refunds and cancellations always need a human.
Simple pricing
Paperflower starts free with 100 customer interactions a month, no card needed: every message in one list, and you write the replies. AI sorting, reply drafts and spam hiding come with Standard, which is A$47 a month for 3,000 customer interactions, with a 7-day free trial. Human replies are always free. See all plans.
Built for AU and NZ brands
Local time zones, local shipping questions, and support from people who know the market.
Frequently asked questions
Shopify Inbox gives you free chat on your store and Shopify Email handles marketing email. Comments and DMs on Instagram and Facebook, and your support inbox, need another tool to bring them together.
As fast as you can for buying questions, ideally within an hour during the day. People asking about stock or shipping are deciding right now.
Not unless you turn that on. By default it drafts a reply and you approve it. You can switch on auto-send for simple, safe questions once you trust the drafts.
Instagram, Facebook and TikTok comments and DMs, support email through Gmail or Google Workspace, and Shopify for order details.
Yes. The Free plan is the basics: 100 customer interactions a month in one list, no card needed, and you write each reply. Standard adds AI sorting, reply drafts and spam hiding, and comes with a 7-day free trial. You can cancel any time. Compare plans.
Start Paperflower free
Connect Instagram, Facebook, email and Shopify in a few minutes. On Standard, AI sorts every message and drafts every reply, you stay in control, and nothing is sent without your say-so unless you switch that on. Free puts every message in one list for you to answer.