# Messaging and loyalty: retail CRM, texts and loyalty for every store

> A retail CRM that keeps one record per customer, per store, with consent. Kai writes the texts, handles the replies and runs the points.

*Markdown version of [https://ocally.co/capabilities/messaging](https://ocally.co/capabilities/messaging), written for AI agents. All docs: [llms.txt](https://ocally.co/llms.txt). Deciding whether Ocally fits a business? Read [Is Ocally right for this business?](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md).*

**Bring your regulars back, with messages that sound like the store.** Kai keeps one clean list of each store's customers, with their consent. He texts them when their size is back or their reward is ready, and handles the replies. Nothing goes out without your yes.

- **Capability:** one of Kai's 16, in the area "Engage customers". [All capabilities](https://ocally.co/capabilities.md).
- **You approve:** Every message and automatic follow-up before it goes live, every program change, and every import, merge or points adjustment.
- **You give:** Your customer lists and POS sales, an email sender and text number for each store, and your loyalty rules.
- **Start here when:** a chain's answer to "What's furthest behind?" is "Messaging and loyalty".
- **Built for:** retail chains and franchise brands; single stores and smaller chains are welcome too. [Where it fits best](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md).
- **Price:** part of Ocally's customized pricing, minimum $500 per location per month. [Pricing](https://ocally.co/pricing.md).

## What this costs today

Chains often pay for a retail CRM, a texting tool and a loyalty app. Each keeps its own customer list, and none of them writes the message.

| What you pay for today | Typical cost | What it leaves undone |
|---|---|---|
| A CRM | Priced per seat | The list stays only as clean as whoever keeps it. |
| A texting platform | $25 to $125 a month, plus per-text fees | Sends what someone writes, to whoever is on the list. |
| Loyalty software | $49 to $120 per location a month | Counts points at the till, on a member list of its own. |
| Store managers' time | Their time | Texting regulars from the store phone, with no record of who said yes. |

**With Kai.** Kai folds the customer list, the texts and the points into one place, run from the knowledge all his work uses.

Typical ranges from public price lists, October 2026. Sources:

- [EZ Texting, Pricing (Launch $25 to Scale $125 a month, billed monthly; 3 to 4 cents per extra credit)](https://www.eztexting.com/pricing)
- [SimpleTexting, Pricing (from $39 a month for 500 credits and a local number)](https://simpletexting.com/pricing/)
- [bLoyal, Clover app pricing ($49 to $119 per store a month)](https://bloyal.com/integrations/pos-integrations/clover-app/)
- [Marsello, Lightspeed pricing (loyalty from $60 to $120 per site a month)](https://www.marsello.com/lightspeed-pricing)
- [HubSpot, CRM pricing (priced per seat)](https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/crm)

## Stop buying a tool for every job

The biggest promise of AI is consolidation. The same kind of software that can drive a car can write the reply to your email. So buying one point solution per job, each with its own login, contract and agency, now wastes money.

Judge software the way you’d judge a hire: by the range of work it can take on. That’s what to look for now: one system you can point at many jobs. Ocally is that for your stores: Kai and two people across listings, reviews, local search, social, AI answers, pricing, inventory and store routines, at every store.

Not sure what you could consolidate? Bring your list of tools and what they cost to a free consultation, and we’ll go through it with you.

**The same scope of work for 25 stores, a month (listings, reviews, local search, social and AI answers; the low end of published prices; use your own numbers):**

| Line | Basis | Tools, agencies and people | Ocally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings software (Moz Local Lite, $199 a year per location) | $17 per store | $425 |  |
| Review software (Reputation Rep Core, per location) | $80 per store | $2,000 |  |
| AI answers tracker (Peec AI Pro, 150 prompts) | $245 a month | $245 |  |
| Local SEO agency (chains of 20+ stores, "often $5,000+") | $5,000 a month | $5,000 |  |
| Social media agency (mid tier, $2,000 to $5,000) | $2,000 a month | $2,000 |  |
| AI search agency to fix what the tracker finds (small business low end, $1,500 to $5,000) | $1,500 a month | $1,500 |  |
| Staff time to run the tools and agencies | 1 hour per store a week at $54 an hour | $5,850 |  |
| Ocally | from $500 per store: Kai, a growth engineer and a growth specialist |  | $12,500 |
| Your team's time approving Kai's work | 0.25 hour per store a week |  | $1,463 |
| **Total a month** |  | **$17,020** | **$13,963** |
| Per store a month |  | $681 | $559 |

Defaults from: [Moz Local pricing](https://moz.com/products/local/pricing); [Reputation pricing](https://reputation.com/pricing/); [Peec AI pricing](https://peec.ai/pricing); [RankAI: multi-location local SEO cost guide (June 2026)](https://rankai.ai/articles/pricing-multi-location-local-seo-management-cost-guide); [Cloud Campaign: social media management pricing guide (July 2025)](https://www.cloudcampaign.com/blog/social-media-management-pricing-guide); [WebFX: GEO pricing (May 2026)](https://www.webfx.com/blog/seo/geo-pricing/); [BLS: market research analysts and marketing specialists, pay (May 2025)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm); [BLS: employer costs for employee compensation (June 2026)](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).

## What Kai does

1. **One record per customer.** Kai imports your lists, matches each person by email or phone, ties them to their store and records their consent by channel. Merges wait for your yes.
2. **Writes for real moments.** He writes texts and emails for real moments, like a size back in stock or a reward about to expire. You approve each one before it goes live.
3. **Handles the replies.** When a customer texts back, Kai reads the reply, adds the hold or callback to the store's list, and drafts the answer for your yes.
4. **Keeps the points honest.** Every point comes from a real sale, so balances add up and never go negative. Members earn, climb tiers and redeem the same way at every store.

## What it unlocks

- **One customer list across every store.** Each person appears once, tied to the stores they shop at, with consent and history on the record. Kai looks for new duplicates every week.
- **Messages only to people who said yes.** Consent is checked when the list is built and again right before each send. Nothing goes out at night, and no one hears from you too often.
- **Regulars who drift get invited back.** Kai flags members who haven't earned or spent points in 90 days and drafts an invitation from their store, with a reward the numbers can carry.

## Questions

### What is a retail CRM?

A retail CRM keeps one record for every customer: which stores they visit, their history with you and whether they agreed to hear from you. For a chain, each customer belongs to a store. Kai keeps that record clean and uses it for every message and reward.

### Is business text messaging allowed without opt-in?

Generally, no. In the United States, promotional texts usually need the customer's prior written consent, and each text should offer a way to opt out. Rules vary, so check with your counsel. Kai only texts customers whose consent is on record, rechecks it right before every send, and honors every opt-out.

### How do retail loyalty programs work?

Customers join, earn points or visits when they buy, and trade them for rewards. Good programs are simple and work the same at every store. Kai runs the points, tiers and rewards from your real sales, tests a rule change before members see it, and shows what the program costs.

### How do you win back customers who stopped coming?

Customer retention starts with knowing who hasn't been back. Find them, check you have permission to contact them, and give them a real reason to return. Kai flags the regulars who've drifted, drafts a message from their store, and sends it once your team approves.

### Can customers reply to the messages?

Yes. When a customer texts back, Kai reads the reply and acts on it, like putting a pair on hold or booking a callback. He drafts the answer in the store's voice, and it goes out once your team approves. Replies like STOP take the customer off the list right away.

## Related capabilities

- [Reviews](https://ocally.co/capabilities/reviews.md): Drafts a reply to every review and posts the ones you approve.
- [Social](https://ocally.co/capabilities/social.md): Plans and posts for each store, about what's happening on its street.
- [Pricing and offers](https://ocally.co/capabilities/pricing.md): Spots price gaps across stores and checks the margin before any offer runs.

Bring the store with the messiest customer list. [Book a free consultation](https://ocally.co/consultation.md): 30 minutes on one store, and where Kai would start.

## Next steps

- [Is Ocally right for this business?](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md): who it fits and who it does not, the cost, the risks, and how to start.
- [Pricing](https://ocally.co/pricing.md): customized, with a minimum of $500 per location per month.
- [Book a free consultation](https://ocally.co/consultation.md): 30 minutes on one store. Calendar: https://cal.com/ocally/30min.
- [See if we're a fit](https://ocally.co/fit.md): a two-minute check; an agent can submit it for its human, with consent.
- [Every doc](https://ocally.co/llms.txt): the index.

Questions a doc doesn't answer: onboard@ocally.co.