WhatsApp Gets a Shopping Button, to See What Businesses are Selling on the App
WhatsApp users will see the new shopping button on the chat screen of businesses that have a catalogue of their offerings.
By sourabh singh | Updated: 11 November 2020
04:25 IST
HIGHLIGHTS
- WhatsApp initially tested its new experience
through a beta release
- Users can tap the shopping button to view a
business’ catalogue
- WhatsApp added the catalogue
feature to its business app last year
WhatsApp has started rolling out a new shopping button that will let
users quickly look at the catalogues offered by businesses on the platform. The
new button, which will replace the voice call button, will be featured directly
on the chat screen to ease shopping on WhatsApp. In September, the
Facebook-owned company was spotted adding the shopping button to help
businesses better showcase their products and services to customers through the
instant messaging app. The feature was initially seen on a WhatsApp beta
version for Android. However, it is now heading to both Android and iPhone
users globally.
With the addition of the shopping button, which seems like a storefront
icon, WhatsApp users can look at a business' catalogue directly
from the chat screen. This is unlike previously when people had to tap into a
particular business' profile to see if the business had a catalogue and what
goods or services they offer.
The new shopping button sits next to the newly designed call button and
replaces the existing voice call button. Users will see the shopping button on
the chat screen of businesses that have a catalogue of their offerings. This
means that you won't be able to see the new button while communicating with
your friends or family members on WhatsApp.
Once tapped, the shopping button will take you to the business'
catalogue through which you can see what goods and services you can purchase
from that business. This will essentially help businesses on WhatsApp enhance
discovery of their products and boost their sales.
In November last year, the WhatsApp Business app enabled the catalogue feature to let
small businesses showcase their products to WhatsApp users. The businesses that
have set up a catalogue will now be able to make the shopping button visible on
their chat screen. You can also, however, still access the
catalogue of businesses from their profiles on the messaging app.
As the shopping button replaces the voice call button in case of
business chats, you can find the latter by tapping on the call button. This
brings up the option to select whether you want to make a voice or video call.
WhatsApp claimed that already more than 17.5 crore users message a
WhatsApp Business account on a daily basis and more than four crore people view
a business' catalogue on the app each month — those include over 30 lakh in
India. The arrival of the shopping button is one of the key steps to
further expand business adoption of the app and
make it as a full-fledged platform for e-commerce — alongside being a leading instant messaging platform.
In 2020, will WhatsApp get the killer feature that every Indian is
waiting for? We discussed this or just hit the play
button below.
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