Facebook is currently making new additions to its WhatsApp platform, to continue to help businesses thrive online especially during this period of the Coronavirus. Facebook is introducing a new way to shop and pay for goods right from WhatsApp chat.
In July, WhatsApp added QR code and the ability to share product catalog links in WhatsApp chat. Facebook says, it is now making it possible for businesses to add a “buy” button in other places that will take customers to WhatsApp chat in a single click to complete their purchase.
“We also want to make it easier for businesses to integrate these features into their existing commerce and customer solutions. This will help many small businesses who have been most impacted in this time.”
“In the future, we’ll make it possible to add items to a cart and check out, all within WhatsApp,” it further said.
Facebook, in the coming months also plans to work with hosting providers through its new product known as Facebook Hosting Services. The product forms part of the newly integrated products to host businesses’ online assets and activities.
“Businesses will also have a new option to manage their WhatsApp messages via hosting services that Facebook plans to offer,” the company said.
This will enable both small and medium-scale businesses to get going on selling their products/services, keep stock of their products, and easily respond and engage with their customers. Given this expansion, the company says it plans to charge for some of the services it offers on the WhatsApp Business platform.
“We will charge business customers for some of the services we offer,” it added.
With some 50 million businesses and 175 million people messaging a WhatsApp Business account each day, this move will help WhatsApp build a strong business brand, while providing and expanding free end-to-end encrypted text, video, and voice calling for over 2 billion people.
