With the "Add to Cart" button, users can select multiple items and send the order as a single message to the seller.
“As of October, the app has reported that 175 million people have been using the catalogue service to chat with a Business account. Meanwhile, more than 50 million users have been using the WhatsApp Business app as of July.”
WhatsApp, a widely-used instant messaging app, is slowly moving into the e-commerce side with WhatsApp Business.
There are more and more shopping happening through chats in recent days. Thus, WhatsApp aims to make the buying and selling experience for both sellers and customers more convenient.
Previously, this Facebook-owned messaging service has launched a "WhatsApp Business Catalogues" feature and a "Shopping Button" (storefront icon located on top of the chat room of sellers that have their business catalogue uploaded on WhatsApp). These features has helped businesses showcase their product and services more easily to customers through the instant messaging app.
However, instead of ordering items from the seller separately through a stream of messages and the back-and-forth communication that happened previously, WhatsApp has come up with a new feature that can further simplify users' in-app shopping experience with just sending a single WhatsApp message to make an order of multiple items.
So, what's this new exciting feature?
Photo Courtesy of WhatsApp
As an extension to the "WhatsApp Business Catalogues" and "Shopping Button" features, WhatsApp has now implemented the new "Add to Cart" button that enables users to place multiple orders at once with just one single message. The seller will then reply to confirm the order, making it easier for them to manage the transactions and communication. This feature has been made available worldwide, starting from 8th December 2020.
The cart can still be edited before sending it to the seller as a WhatsApp message. This system of adding and removing items from the cart is similar to how other e-commerce sites or mobile apps have done with their online transactions.
How does this new "Add to Cart" feature work?
When WhatsApp users go to the seller's business profile that they want to order from, they can tap the "Shopping Button" (storefront icon) next to the seller's name in the chat room to access their business catalogue. Once the catalogue opens, they can browse through the products and "Add to Cart" multiple products they want from the seller. Once their cart is complete, they can send the order to the seller in just a single message. Users can still see their order details by clicking the View Cart button in the chat room.
For more information regarding how this new feature works, you may watch the video below or visit WhatsApp on How to place an order using the cart.
Video Courtesy of WhatsApp
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References
NDTV (website)
The Verge (website)
Pocket-lint (website)
Malay Mail (website)
WhatsApp Blog (website)
