WhatsApp Adds Feature That Lets Users Chat Directly With Businesses
July 09 2020 - 8:16AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Sebastian
The messaging platform WhatsApp has added a feature that allows
users to scan a QR code and chat directly with a business.
Businesses can use the feature to share product catalogs on
WhatsApp as links.
The move is the latest effort by Facebook Inc., which acquired
WhatsApp in 2014, to offer more e-commerce tools to companies.
Facebook earlier this year backed away from efforts to sell ads on
the platform in its bid to monetize the platform, a plan that drove
WhatsApp's creators to resign.
WhatsApp said on its blog that more than two billion people use
its app and more than 40 million people view a business catalog on
the platform each month.
Other small-business-focused products Facebook recently launched
include a click-for-delivery feature for restaurants, gift-card
options and fundraisers for coronavirus-stricken businesses. The
company has moved slowly on commerce in the past. After letting a
group of major brands experiment with in-app purchases on Instagram
more than a year ago, Facebook still hasn't made those features
available to businesses platform-wide.
Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 09, 2020 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)
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