Cape Town - Facebook is working on expanding the in-app shopping features in its popular messaging app WhatsApp.
This will give users more ways to buy products directly from chats.
This is how it works:
The user messages a business, which can reply with a link to a product catalogue. The shopper is then able to add items to their cart and checkout from the app.
“Many of the old ways in which people and businesses communicate are not working. While businesses spend billions of dollars annually managing phone calls, e-mails, and SMS, people do not want to wait on hold, get passed from person to person, or wonder if their messages were received,” said WhatsApp in a blog post.
The global pandemic has made forced businesses to use fast and efficient ways to service their customers and make sales.
More than 175 million people every day message a WhatsApp Business account.
WhatsApp has increased the investment in the following areas:
Shopping
WhatsApp aims to expand ways for people to check out available products and make purchases right from a chat. It also wants to make it easier for businesses to integrate these features into their existing commerce and customer solutions.
Facebook Hosting Services
WhatsApp also seeks to expand partnerships with business solution providers.
“We will also provide a new option for businesses to manage their WhatsApp messages via hosting services that Facebook plans to offer. Providing this option will make it easier for small and medium size businesses to get started, sell products, keep their inventory up to date, and quickly respond to messages they receive - wherever their employees are.”
Business Sales
It will charge business customers for some of the services it offers. This "will help WhatsApp continue building a business of our own while we provide and expand free end-to-end encrypted text, video and voice calling for more than two billion people.“
IOL TECH