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Check a retail catalog for negative and low margins and find top sellers by dollars, units and profit with ChatGPT

who John Alexander, owner of JT Pets, a natural pet food and supply store in Hamilton, Ontario, in a Q&A on Square's Seller Community blog

The problem

A popular dog treat brand had been out of stock, and when it came back the price had increased so much that "I had it priced for less than I paid. I didn't catch that when I put it into inventory."

What happened

He says ChatGPT has proven accurate in its analysis and provides insights "in a matter of minutes" instead of hours spent on data analysis. He cautions to review everything and "Be mindful of what you share!" No dollar figures are given. Owner-told.

Quoted in the source: John Alexander, owner, JT Pets. Source: Square Seller Community: How Pet Store Owner John Alexander Saves Time and Boosts Productivity with Chat GPT (Helen, Square Seller Community Manager) (2023-11-21) · Added 2026-10-19.

How to set it up yourself

1. What JT Pets does: John Alexander had ChatGPT check his catalog and sales for negative and low margins, which caught a dog treat priced below cost after a supplier price increase, and had it list the top 10 items by sales dollars, units and profit for marketing ideas.
2. Export your item catalog (name, SKU, cost, retail price) and a sales report for a set period from your point-of-sale system as spreadsheets. Remove any customer names or contact details before uploading.
3. Upload both files to ChatGPT with the prompt below.
4. Check every flagged item against your latest supplier invoice before changing a price. Use the top-10 lists to pick products to feature in your next promotion.

Copy-paste prompt

These files are {STORE NAME}'s item catalog (with cost and retail price) and sales for {DATE RANGE}. 1) List every item where retail price is below cost, then every item with a margin under {X}%, showing SKU, cost, price and margin %. 2) List the top 10 items by sales dollars, by units sold and by gross profit. Use only numbers in the files; never estimate a missing cost or price, mark it [MISSING]. Show your margin formula so I can check it.

Tools used

Some tool links may be affiliate links. Disclosure

Checked prices: ChatGPT: from Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (verified 2026-10-17)

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