WhatsApp hopes its messenger will become a direct selling platform

The ease that WhatsApp offers to contact companies directly and avoid intermediaries is one of the characteristics of this application. The next step in this direction is to convert the messaging app to a global e-commerce platform.

This novelty was announced during the first WhatsApp Business Summit, which took place in Brazil. Mark Zuckerberg himself, through a video connection, has advanced this service that will help users do this find companies, message them and buy from the chat itself.

The idea is that interested parties can locate businesses by category, such as travel or banking, or search by business name. This will save you from having to look up phone numbers on company websites or typing a number into your contacts.

Previously, users had to add a phone number to their contacts or click a link on a separate platform to open a chat with a business. The company began testing the card in São Paulo last year.

“We want to make it easier for people to do more on WhatsApp. Part of that is creating better ways to engage with businesses. And although millions of companies in Brazil use it to chat, the idea is that companies are discovered or that people can buy from them, so people end up having to use workarounds,” Zuckerberg said.

Once the person finds the company they want to chat with, they can ask questions about the products, browse your catalogue of goods and services and add items to a shopping cart so that the business knows what it wants to buy.

“We created corporate search so people’s privacy is preserved. Anything you search for is processed in a way that can’t be linked back to your account. People can find businesses using our WhatsApp Business platform. In Brazil, the search will also allow you to find small companies,” Zuckerberg warned.

Also, users will be able to create a file secure payment directly from the chat with your credit or debit card. This experience recently launched in India and is now being tested in Brazil with various payment partners.

New shopping experience

This checkout experience will be a game-changer for individuals and businesses who want to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to visit a website, open another app, or pay in person. The goal is to extend this experience to more countries in the future.

“Starting today, you can search directly for a brand or small business, by browsing a list of categories or typing its name. We are making this possible by expanding our directory function to all of Brazil and also bringing it to large companies using WhatsApp Business ”, remarked the CEO of Meta.

At present, this feature will start to be tested in some markets such as Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United Kingdom. In Brazil, users will also be able to browse the small business categories in their neighborhood.

ON arrival in Argentina, from Meta, warned that this first experience is not yet in the plans. Everything will depend on the acceptance of this internal test phase which will be carried out in the neighboring country.