The Customers → Inquiries screen collects the messages sent through your website's contact form. It's your inbox for people who aren't customers yet - pre-purchase questions, stock enquiries, partnership offers.
This is the last of the day-to-day guides, and the only one that applies to every site whether or not you sell online.
The list
Inquiries are ordered newest first. Each row shows the sender's name, their contact details (email and phone, when they filled in both), and the date and time it arrived.
Unread inquiries stand out - the row is highlighted and carries a dot on the right. The page heading shows a counter (e.g. "3 new") so you see the backlog the moment you open the screen.
Reading and replying
Click a row to expand it and read the message itself. Expanding automatically marks the inquiry as read - the counter drops and the highlight clears. Click the row again to collapse it.
You reply from your mailbox, not from here
This screen is for reading - there's no reply box. Answer straight from your own mailbox to the sender's email address. The notification you receive for a new inquiry is set to reply to the sender, so hitting "Reply" in your mail app fills in the right address.
Shoppers who prefer a live conversation over the form message you through the storefront chat - it has its own screen: Messages.
Deleting
Expand the inquiry and click Delete. You'll be asked to confirm, because the action cannot be undone - a deleted inquiry is not recoverable.
Inquiries hold personal data
A living person's name, email and phone are personal data. Keep them only as long as you have a reason to, and delete them once the matter is closed. If the sender asks to be erased, do it from here.
Automatic emails
Two notifications relate to inquiries. Both are configured in Email notifications, not on this screen:
- Inquiry notification - sent to you whenever a new inquiry arrives, so you don't have to keep the BackOffice open.
- Auto-reply - sent to the sender the moment they submit, so they know the message landed. You can switch either off, or edit its wording.
Tips
- Only expand an inquiry when you're ready to deal with it - expanding marks it read and it stops standing out.
- The contact form is bot-protected, so what reaches this screen comes from real people.
Next step
Your site is running. Now see what the numbers say - your dashboard summarises everything over any date range. See Dashboard analytics.