At the first WhatsApp Business Summit in Brazil on Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg shared an update on what the company is building to help people find, message and buy something from a business on WhatsApp. These new features are introduced to help users connect with their favourite brands while discovering new ones.
Business Search: Users will be able to find a larger brand on WhatsApp using API (select country launch — Brazil, UK, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia) Directory: Users will be able to discover a local merchant (SMB) on WhatsApp (Brazil only; expanding to the entire country after testing in Sao Paulo)
P2M: Payment to local merchants would also be possible directly via WhatsApp (Currently testing in Brazil; expected to expand to other markets as well)
WhatsApp also said that it will be launching the ability to find a business right on WhatsApp so people can browse businesses by category — such as travel or banking — or search by the business name. “This will save people from having to find phone numbers off websites or type a number into their contacts. To start, we’re bringing this feature to Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the UK. In Brazil, people will be able to browse categories of small businesses in their neighbourhood as well,” a statement from the company read.
WhatsApp also added that once people find a business they want to chat with, they would be able to ask product questions, browse their catalogue of goods and services and add items to a cart so the business knows what they want to buy.
“From there, we want people to be able to make a secure payment right from a chat with their credit or debit card. We recently launched this experience in India and we’re excited to now be testing this in Brazil with multiple payment partners. This seamless checkout experience will be a game-changer for people and businesses looking to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to go to a website, open another app or pay in person. Our goal is to expand this experience to more countries in the future,” it added.
