WhatsApp Commerce

What is WhatsApp commerce?

WhatsApp commerce is a model of conversational commerce, where companies can connect with users, and sell their products and services directly on WhatsApp business and WhatsApp Business API platform.

In January 2018, WhatsApp released its business app, also known as WhatsApp Business. This allowed brands to take advantage of WhatsApps enormous user base to engage audiences, accelerate sales and drive better customer support. 

WhatsApp commerce is a feature of the WhatsApp business platform that takes this idea a step forward.

WhatsApp commerce allows brands to automate their order-taking process by allowing users to browse through their product catalog, explore the products and services and add select products to cart to confirm order and direct it to the business.

How to use WhatsApp commerce?

WhatsApp is one of the biggest channels for conversational commerce. It has a vast user base that involves most of our customers. Therefore it is important to make the most out of it.

Here is how you can best leverage from WhatsApp commerce:

Create a Business Profile

Differentiating yourself as a business on WhatsApp is important so that your chat doesn't get lost in the DMs of your customers. WhatsApp Business/ API allows you to create a Business profile with information such as your business address, contact information, and website URL. This allows users to learn about your business before interacting with you directly and saves them time to go ahead with the shopping experience.

Direct connection

Use WhatsApp click-to-chat links and unique QR code to promote your product and direct customers to your WhatsApp store both online and offline. These can be added to your website, social media profiles, marketing emails and even your product products packaging and storefront.

Broadcast Offers and Notifications

Create targeted WhatsApp Campaigns and use WhatsApp's broadcast feature to notify your customers about new offers and products that they can benefit from. You can also simply interact with your prospects, send shipping updates and much more using WhatsApp Broadcast.

Integrate Product Catalog

WhatsApp commerce allows you to display your products in a separate panel, for customers to browse through. When you integrate your product catalog with WhatsApp business, a customer can click on an item and go through the product description presented in a PDP(product detail page) format to decide if they would want to make a purchase. 

Receive orders

WhatsApp commerce has a user friendly UI that allows customers to add their products of interest to a shopping cart. This provides the customers with the latest information on the product. The customers can then send their cart with all the required items to your business. Once your business receives the order, you can directly contact the customers to complete the transaction and purchasing process.

Personalise Customer Engagement 

It is important to take advantage of conversational commerce platforms. Use WhatsApp to engage customers on a personal level. Identify and use customer information to tailor conversations to their liking. Learn about their problems and recommend the products that can solve them.

Make your brand memorable for them by using the collected data to create innovative re-marketing campaigns with encouraging deals to convert customers with abandoned carts and increase overall sales.

Answer customer queries 

WhatsApp is a messaging app, so customers expect a level of engagement. Provide your customers with precise solutions and instant replies to all their doubts and queries. Explore WhatsApps voice and video call features and connect your customers with a live agent as and when required to increase the overall quality of interactions.

Automate your Business

It is next to impossible to fabricate the perfect customer experience without automation. 

Here are some of the things you can automate using a WhatsApp chatbot:

1. Instant replies - answer all pre and post queries, FAQ questions and inform users about your brand in an instant to engage your customers in real time.
2. Personalised engagement- it is hard to keep track of individual customers. A chatbot on the other hand can easily collect and process data to help personalise customer experience. Let your chatbot make the best of your ongoing conversation and give customers customised product recommendation and much more.
3. Broadcast Campaigns - create and schedule broadcast Campaigns to be sent out timely without needing human interception. You can also use customer segmentation to target particular users and send payment transaction and shipping updates to customers as and when required.
4. Complete transaction- Use automation to process check out and complete payment on WhatsApp itself.

This way the customer does not have to wait for you to connect with them after they send you their order.

Engati helps you automate your WhatsApp with a chatbot that will do all of the above for you and more.

What are the Benefits of WhatsApp Commerce

It is safe to say that WhatsApp commerce is an extremely beneficial feature for business.

Here are some key benefits for WhatsApp commerce:

Synchronised UX design 

WhatsApp has a very well done UX design that syncs with the customers mental model. This makes navigation easier for the users and the shopping process most convenient. To top that, WhatsApp's natural messaging interface adds to the convenience of the design, which works in favor of the business.

Customer Satisfaction

WhatsApp commerce leverages impulse shopping and customer engagement. According to IBM and National Retail Federation, 71% of consumers admit to shop in the "micro-moments" between their everyday chores. Instant customer support and personalised engagement when combined with convenient shopping, results in extremely satisfied customers.

Customer Retention

Conversational commerce is the perfect blend of e-commerce and messaging apps. This helps merge shopping and customer support like no other. Instant support, timely updates and personalised engagement helps enhance the shopping experience and retains customers for the long term.

Brand Awareness

Given WhatsApp's extensive user base, the use of the channel for e-commerce automatically increases the exposure to your brand. WhatsApp features like click-to-chat links and QR codes can be easily circulated to invite customers online and offline. Thus increasing the chances of sales as well.

Get data stats

WhatsApp + Automation directly helps you keep track of your orders and their details.

This helps you analyse your progress and plan further marketing strategies.

WhatsApp Commerce Policy

WhatsApp has certain policies that one must learn and abide by when using WhatsApp commerce. 

These policies are:

1. To use Commerce Catalogs on the WhatsApp business app or provide any e-commerce experience, you must comply with all of WhatsApp's policies, prohibitions and rules and regulations.
2. Your business is solely responsible for your transactions and giving out any sales terms, privacy terms or other terms applicable to your interactions with users.
3. WhatsApp is not responsible for processing, paying for, or fulfilling any sales related transactions.
4. You alone are responsible for collecting and handling all applicable taxes, duties, fees and additional charges for sales relating to your transactions.
5. Certain products and services are prohibited under WhatsApp's policies.

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