The task

The Tea Workshop runs active channels in Telegram and MAX and posts about new teas and teaware every day. But to buy a tea from a post, customers had to go to the website, find the product again and sign in. The shop wanted buying to start right in the messenger, without a second shop to maintain: the same products, prices, stock, loyalty points and payment as on the website.

What we built

• Buy straight from a post

  A link in a post opens the product card inside the messenger, even on the right pack size. The home screen shows “Discussed this week”: products from the channel’s posts.

  A post leads straight to the cart, no detour via the website.

• Phone sign-in, once

  In MAX the messenger itself confirms the number, no SMS. In Telegram an SMS code is needed once, then the app recognises the customer.

  Customers see their website orders and points, no new account.

• Catalogue, prices, stock, points and promo codes come from the website

  The app takes them from the shop every time it opens.

  Nothing is maintained twice: out of stock on the site means out of stock in the app.

• Payment goes to the shop’s account

  Card or SBP fast payments through the shop’s bank, or Yandex Split. Delivery: pickup, courier, CDEK, Yandex Delivery, Russian Post. If the pickup-point map fails to load (e.g. behind a VPN), points are offered as a list.

  Money goes straight to the shop, and delivery choice never gets stuck.

• Order updates in the chat

  The bot reports each order step in the messenger where the order was placed. Out of stock? “We’ll message you when it’s back”: one message, no mailing. In Telegram the bot sends one reminder about an abandoned cart.

  Customers know where their order is without calling or emailing.

• You see where each order came from

  The admin panel marks every order with Telegram or MAX and the post it came from, and orders can be filtered by source.

  It’s clear which posts and which messenger bring customers.

• Customer account in the messenger

  Points, order history with “Repeat” and “Pay” buttons, a “Waiting for restock” list. The cart is shared with the website.

  A past order is repeated with one tap.

• Share a product

  In Telegram it sends a message with the product photo, in MAX a product link.

  Easy to send to a friend: the link opens right in the app.

How it works

The app is a lightweight storefront on top of the existing shop. Catalogue, prices, stock, points and orders stay where they were: no separate database, no second admin panel. Managers see Telegram and MAX orders next to website orders and handle them the same way: the order goes to the shop’s inventory system (MoySklad for the Tea Workshop), payment and fiscal receipt work as for a website order. One app serves both messengers. Telegram is not directly reachable from servers in Russia, so bot messages go through a separate node abroad, and the shop loads fast: about 80 KB to start.

Timeline

1. 30 September kick-off.
2. 3 October the app runs on the shop’s server; a test order passed from sign-in to the payment link.
3. 8 October open to customers in Telegram and MAX, order updates arrive in the chat.
4. 10–12 October improvements from the owners’ feedback: promo code in the cart, sharing with a product photo.

In total: 4 days to a working version, 9 days to launch for customers.

What the shop gets

• A storefront where the audience already is

  Telegram and MAX share one app and one shop: if one platform dips, the other is already working.

• A shorter path from post to order

  Product card, cart and checkout inside the messenger; payment on the shop’s bank page.

• You see what works

  The source on every order shows which posts and which messenger bring customers.

Status

Live since 8 October 2026.