Help shoppers find the right product in seconds.
Big catalogs lose shoppers who do not know what to pick. Lodestar Guide asks a few quick questions, or reads one typed sentence, and answers with three in-stock picks and plain reasons why.
Pick a store and answer a question or two.
Every option shows how many products it leaves, so shoppers never hit a dead end. Options that would leave nothing are switched off.
Sample catalogs for this demo. On your site, Lodestar Guide reads your real, in-stock catalog.
Smarter than a filter, more honest than a quiz.
Taps or a sentence
Shoppers can tap a few answers, or type something like "a red for dinner under $30" and get the same quality of picks.
No dead ends
Every option shows how many products it leaves. Options that would leave nothing are switched off before anyone taps them.
Honest picks
Every reason on a pick comes from what your catalog actually lists. No brand can pay to show up.
A value line on every pick
Price per unit, compared with similar products, so shoppers can see what is a good deal.
Shareable
Every set of picks has its own link, so shoppers can send them to a friend or come back later.
Straight to checkout
Where your store platform allows it, picks go straight into a cart on your own checkout.
Built for more than one kind of store.
If your shoppers ask staff to help them choose, Lodestar Guide can answer that question online.
Wine and spirits
Occasion, style, and budget. Turns "something nice for dinner" into three bottles.
Coffee roasters
Brew method, flavor, and roast. Helps new customers pick a bag they will reorder.
Garden centers
Sun, care, and goal. Narrows hundreds of plants to the ones that fit the yard.
Pet supply
Pet, age, and protein. Fewer wrong bags, fewer returns.
Beauty and skincare
Skin type, concern, and routine, matched only to what is on the shelf.
Dispensaries
Where Lodestar Guide started: big menus, lab numbers, and price per unit, explained in plain words.
Find out what shoppers wanted that you do not carry.
Every answer shoppers give is counted, anonymously. Your monthly report shows what people asked for most, and where they asked for something your shelves could not deliver.
Top requests
The answers and typed requests shoppers use most, in plain words.
Gaps on the shelf
Combinations that left fewer than six products to choose from, so you know what to stock next.
What gets clicked
Which picks shoppers open and add to their cart.
Questions about Lodestar Guide.
Which store platforms does Lodestar Guide work with?
It syncs live with Dispense menus today. We connect other store platforms and product feeds project by project, so ask us about yours.
Does it use AI to pick products?
AI only helps understand what a shopper types. The picks themselves are ranked from your own catalog: what is in stock, what matches the answers, and the price. If the AI is ever unavailable, a simpler keyword reader takes over.
Will it recommend things that are out of stock?
No. The catalog syncs every 15 minutes and only in-stock items are shown.
Can shoppers buy straight from the picks?
Where your store platform allows it, yes. Picks go straight into a cart on your own checkout.
How big does my catalog need to be?
It shines with 50 or more products. With fewer than that, a simple category page usually does the job, and we will tell you so.
Do brands pay to show up in the picks?
No. Nobody can pay for placement. Picks come only from how well a product matches what the shopper asked for.
Will it slow my site down?
No. It is a small script that loads alongside your normal shop link. If it ever cannot load, shoppers see a link to your full catalog instead.
More of what we build.
Help your shoppers choose.
Tell us about your catalog. We will show you how Lodestar Guide would work on your site.
Start a project →