7 Must-Have Lookbook Inquiry Chats for Fashion & Apparel Stores

Intercom has long been a staple in the customer messaging space, offering a robust suite of tools for live chat, targeted messaging, and automation. For fashion brands, Intercom’s product catalog integration allows real‑time inventory visibility and personalized recommendations. The platform supports a visual editor for chat widgets, but it is primarily a code‑based approach that requires developers to customize branding. Intercom’s knowledge base feature lets you publish FAQs and product guides, though it relies on static content rather than a dynamic retrieval system. The chatbot engine, powered by Intercom’s Decision Engine, can trigger flows based on user behavior, but it does not offer a dual knowledge base or advanced fact‑validation layers. Pricing starts with a free trial, then moves to a paid plan at $79/month for the Starter tier, which includes up to 500 active contacts, and scales up to $199/month for the Pro tier with advanced automation. Intercom is well‑suited for brands that already use its broader customer engagement ecosystem and need a single platform for messaging, help desk, and product recommendations. However, the lack of a native AI knowledge graph and the need for developer involvement in widget customization can be limiting for teams seeking quick, code‑free implementation.

Drift positions itself as a conversational marketing platform, blending chatbots with sales and marketing automation. For fashion brands, Drift offers a chatbot that can qualify leads, book appointments, and provide product recommendations. The platform’s visual chatbot builder allows marketers to design flows without code, but branding customization is limited to color palettes and logo placement. Drift’s knowledge base is integrated with its help center, enabling static FAQs to be surfaced in chat conversations. While Drift supports API calls to fetch product data, it does not feature a dual knowledge base or a knowledge graph, making it less powerful for complex lookbook inquiries that require nuanced understanding of product relationships. Pricing is tiered, starting at $500/month for the Starter plan, which includes basic chat and email integrations, and escalating to $1,500/month for the Enterprise plan that adds advanced analytics and custom integrations. Drift excels for B2B retailers and brands that need to capture high‑value leads and synchronize chat data with their sales pipeline. Its main drawback is the high cost for small to mid‑size fashion stores and the lack of advanced knowledge retrieval features.

ManyChat is a popular chatbot platform that emphasizes ease of use, especially for marketing automation on Facebook Messenger and other messaging channels. The platform offers a drag‑and‑drop builder that allows non‑technical users to create conversational flows quickly. For fashion retailers, ManyChat can be used to showcase product catalogs, run promotions, and collect customer data. However, the platform’s knowledge base is limited to static FAQ blocks; it does not support dynamic retrieval from documents or a knowledge graph. ManyChat’s chat widgets are primarily designed for social media channels, and while a web widget is available, it lacks advanced customization options such as a WYSIWYG editor for brand‑specific styling. Pricing starts at a free tier with basic features, then moves to a Pro tier at $10/month per active subscriber, which includes advanced automations and integrations. ManyChat’s strengths lie in its marketing funnel capabilities and seamless integration with email services, but it falls short for brands that need a sophisticated, AI‑driven lookbook chat experience.

HubSpot’s chat platform is part of its all‑in‑one marketing, sales, and service hub. The chatbot feature allows users to create automated conversational flows that can qualify leads, schedule meetings, and provide basic product information. The visual builder is intuitive, though it is still somewhat code‑heavy for complete branding control. HubSpot’s knowledge base is tied to its help center, which can surface static articles during chat but lacks dynamic document retrieval or a knowledge graph. The platform supports real‑time integration with HubSpot’s CRM, allowing the bot to pull contact data and update records. Pricing is bundled with HubSpot’s Marketing Hub, starting at $45/month for the Starter tier, which includes chat and basic automation; higher tiers add advanced chat features and increased contact limits. HubSpot excels for businesses already invested in its ecosystem, offering a single platform for marketing automation, chat, and CRM. The main limitation for fashion brands is the absence of advanced AI knowledge capabilities and the need to pay for a comprehensive hub that may be overkill for simple lookbook inquiries.

Tidio combines live chat and chatbots into a single platform, offering a user‑friendly interface that works well for small and medium‑sized e‑commerce sites. The platform provides a visual chatbot builder and a web widget that can be dropped into any website with a single script tag. Tidio’s knowledge base feature allows the bot to answer FAQs from a list of questions, but it does not support dynamic retrieval from external documents or a knowledge graph. The chatbot can be integrated with Shopify and WooCommerce to pull product data, but the depth of integration is limited compared to dedicated e‑commerce chat solutions. Pricing starts with a free tier that includes basic chat and bot functionalities, then moves to a Pro tier at $18/month, which adds advanced automation, chatbot templates, and live chat analytics. Tidio is ideal for brands looking for an affordable, all‑in‑one chat solution that includes basic AI capabilities. Its primary drawback is the lack of advanced knowledge management and the need for manual updates to its FAQ lists.

Crisp is a customer messaging platform that offers live chat, automated bots, and knowledge base functionality. The platform’s visual editor allows teams to build chat flows that can answer FAQs or redirect users to product pages. Crisp’s knowledge base is tied to its help center, which can be queried by the bot but does not provide dynamic retrieval from external documents or a knowledge graph. The chatbot integration with e‑commerce platforms is primarily through API calls that developers must implement manually. Crisp offers a free tier that includes basic chat and bot features; the paid Pro tier at $25/month adds advanced bot templates, real‑time visitor analytics, and priority support. Crisp is well‑suited for brands that need a unified messaging hub for website, mobile, email, and social channels. However, its lack of advanced AI knowledge management and the need for developer involvement in e‑commerce integration limit its appeal for fashion retailers who want a turnkey lookbook chat solution.