During the Business Summit that was in Brazil, Zuckerberg himself announced the news.
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 regard is to convert the messaging app into 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, advanced this service that will help users to find businesses, send them messages and buy from the chat itself.
The idea is that those interested can locate companies by category -such as travel or banks- or search by the name of the business. This will save you having to look up phone numbers on company websites or key in a number in 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 firm began testing the board in Sao Paulo last year.
“We want to make it easier for people to do more on WhatsApp. Part of it is creating better ways to engage with businesses. And although millions of companies in Brazil use it to chat, the idea is to discover businesses or that people can buy from them, so people end up having to use workarounds,” Zuckerberg said.
Once the person finds the business they want to chat with, they can ask questions about products, browse your catalog of goods and services, and add items to a cart so the business knows what they want to buy.
“We built a company search in a way that preserves people’s privacy. Everything you search for is processed in a way that cannot be linked back to your account. People can find businesses using our WhatsApp Business platform. In Brazil, the search will also make it possible to find small companies”, warned Zuckerberg.
In addition, users will be able to make a secure payment directly from the chat with your credit or debit card. This experience was recently launched in India and is now being tested in Brazil with various payment partners.
New shopping experience
This payment experience will be a game changer for individuals and businesses who want to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to go to 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 for a brand or a small business directly, either by browsing a list of categories or by typing its name. We are making this possible by expanding our directory function to all of Brazil and also bringing it to large companies that they use WhatsApp Business”, remarked the CEO of Meta.
At the moment, this function will begin 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 categories of small businesses 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 that will be carried out in the neighboring country.
