WhatsApp plans to simplify in-app shopping
2020-12-11WhatsApp recently introduced the WhatsApp Pay feature for users and today it is rolling out carts. With the two features in place, WhatsApp aims to make shopping taking place through chats convenient for users and help online businesses.
"Catalogues have allowed people to quickly see what’s available and helped businesses organize their chats around particular items. With more and more shopping happening through chats, we want to make buying and selling even easier," WhatsApp noted. WhatsApp says that carts will come in handy for users "when messaging businesses that typically sell multiple items at once, like a local restaurant or clothing store."
WhatsApp users will be able to browse a catalogues, select multiple products, and send the order as one message to the business with the new feature. WhatsApp, with carts, aims to be simpler for businesses to keep track of order inquiries, manage requests from customers, and close sales. WhatsApp users can use carts by simply finding the items they want and then tapping on "add to cart". Once users have confirmed their products, they have to send it to the WhatsApp business as a single message.
WhatsApp noted that globally, more than 175 million people message a WhatsApp Business account every day and more than 3 million people in India view a business catalogues each month. It further noted that the need for digital tools to shop has only increased during the pandemic.
"WhatsApp is fast becoming a store counter to discuss products and coordinate sales. Catalogues have allowed people to quickly see what’s available and helped businesses organize their chats around particular items. With more and more shopping happening through chats, we want to make buying and selling even easier," the Facebook-owned platform said.
WhatsApp has also rolled out a bunch of sticker packs created by WhatsApp designers and local artists to help people and businesses stay connected.
Earlier this week, a report noted that WhatsApp users refusing to accept the Terms of Service in 2021 may lose access to the app. According to screenshots shared by, the Facebook-owned company’s new policy update will give further information on how WhatsApp processes its user’s data. It will also speak about how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats. "If you don’t agree with the changes, you can delete your WhatsApp account within WhatsApp Settings," the report said.
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