Answers before you prepare your shop.
How to prepare your brand and catalogue, what launch review involves, and how payments, delivery and assistance fit your market.
Getting started
Prepare your shop yourself, with optional help from Gerai. Public registration is closed. Request early access on the Contact page, or use the invitation link you have received.
- What can I prepare?
- Your shop identity, products, photos, prices and stock, with a private preview before requesting launch review. Production payments and delivery depend on your market, provider eligibility and agreed scope.
- What does the merchant need to provide?
- Accurate product details, prices, stock and your own photographs. Add products directly or import a CSV as drafts. You also need customer contact details, policies and eligible provider accounts before launch.
- When does my shop go live?
- After Gerai reviews the catalogue, payments and fulfilment and agrees the launch terms with you. Preparing or previewing a shop does not publish it. There is no fixed launch turnaround; provider approval and readiness affect timing.
- Can Gerai help with setup?
- Yes. Ask about assisted setup or a scoped migration. You can start a new shop with Gerai Baru or bring an existing catalogue with Gerai Ubah; either journey can include help. The amount of assistance is agreed separately.
Storefront and catalogue
The output is the merchant’s shop, not a generic marketplace profile. Brand, product and operational decisions remain visible and controllable.
- Whose brand appears on the shop?
- Your name, products and visual identity appear at a branded Gerai address. Custom-domain delivery is not included by implication in the Singapore pilot.
- How is the catalogue created?
- Add your products and photographs directly, or import a CSV to create drafts. Check descriptions, variants, prices and stock before requesting review.
- Does importing a CSV publish products?
- No. Imported products are drafts. Review the results, add your own photographs and request launch review when ready. Self-service preparation does not promise AI image generation or automatic publishing.
- Can the merchant change prices and stock?
- Yes. The merchant operating view supports price and stock edits and product archiving, so ordinary catalogue changes do not require waiting for Gerai.
- Is there a fixed product limit?
- Catalogue size is confirmed for each build. Small demonstration shops are examples of different brand treatments, not a statement that the platform is limited to five or six products.
- Which languages are supported?
- Gerai’s public site is available in English, Indonesian, Malay and Thai. Storefront language and market configuration are agreed for the merchant’s buyers and operating country rather than assumed from the public-site language alone.
Future marketplace expansion
Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop connections are future expansion, outside the first shop launch. An invited Singapore merchant needs an eligible seller account and provider approval. Gerai and the merchant must verify the complete order, fulfilment, return and settlement journey before activating that channel.
Marketplace customers use the marketplace’s checkout, payment and refund process. Your Gerai storefront uses its own checkout. Stock is allocated separately to each channel and to pop-up events, so one last item is not offered independently everywhere. Returning money does not automatically return an item to sellable stock.
Instagram product and shop links continue to open your branded Gerai storefront. They do not require a marketplace connection.
Payments and shipping
Gerai connects the storefront to local providers; it does not become the merchant’s bank, courier or seller of record.
- Which payment methods can be configured?
- Singapore pilot preparation uses an eligible merchant-owned Stripe account and SGD. Cards and local methods depend on that account and must be checked before paid launch. Localized flows include QRIS, virtual accounts and e-wallets in Indonesia; FPX, DuitNow and Touch ’n Go in Malaysia; and cash on delivery where configured. Availability remains subject to the payment provider, market and merchant eligibility.
- Who holds the buyer’s money?
- The licensed payment gateway settles funds directly into the merchant’s own bank account. Buyer funds do not pass through Gerai.
- How are delivery charges calculated?
- The Singapore pilot uses domestic flat-rate delivery arranged by the merchant. Supported courier accounts and live rates in other markets depend on the configured provider and agreed scope.
- How is cash on delivery handled?
- Cash-on-delivery orders enter the same order queue but require explicit merchant confirmation before they advance. This keeps an unconfirmed COD request from being treated like a prepaid order.
WhatsApp and orders
A WhatsApp contact link lets customers reach the merchant. Automated ordering and notifications require separate provisioning and are not included in the first Singapore shop launch. The capabilities below apply only where configured and verified.
- What can the WhatsApp assistant do?
- It can present the catalogue, support the defined ordering flow, answer order-status questions and send configured order, payment and shipping notifications.
- Does it answer every customer question?
- No. The assistant operates within a stated scope and escalates other questions to the merchant. It is identified as a shop assistant and is not presented as a human being.
- Are web and chat orders separate?
- No. They enter one merchant queue with the same core statuses and buyer-notification flow, so the merchant does not have to reconcile two unrelated order systems.
- What happens to unpaid orders?
- The operating flow can expire unpaid orders rather than leaving them indefinitely in an active state. The exact payment status still comes from the configured gateway.
Operation, data and support
The merchant’s daily job is intentionally narrow: see what came in, accept what requires action, update products when needed and move orders through fulfilment.
- What does the merchant use each day?
- A phone-first operating view for takings, order stages, COD confirmation, buyer WhatsApp access, and product price and stock changes.
- Who handles hosting and maintenance?
- Gerai operates the hosted service, including the storefront’s SSL, backups and product updates. Any customer-specific operational commitment must be agreed in writing.
- Can the merchant export its data?
- Customers and orders can be exported on request. If a merchant chooses to take over the site, Gerai’s stated handover path is the site code in the merchant’s own repository.
- How do we ask for help?
- Email hello@gerai.shop with the store domain, relevant order reference, steps taken, expected result and actual result. Do not include passwords or complete payment-card details.