WhatsApp Shopping: Selling via WhatsApp

For some time now, WhatsApp users have coexisted in an environment where both personal and business accounts thrive. In fact, it is very likely you have one, but are you fully using its potential for sales?

 

Today, we are talking about WhatsApp Shopping, an exclusive feature for Business accounts on the app that allows you to take your conversion efforts to the next level.

 

Sounds good, right? Keep reading to learn more.

Essentially, it involves the ability to incorporate complete product listings, creating a catalog that we can easily share with chat users.

 

Although it is called shopping, it does not quite resemble Google Shopping, as these products will not suddenly appear as the user uses the service. In reality, it shares more similarities with how Instagram or Facebook use their catalogs.

 

While not exactly the same as on other Meta networks, it shares the proactivity, meaning we are the ones sharing/tagging the products in our posts.

Creating the catalog is quite straightforward, but before you begin, you need to be clear on the main requirement: you need to have a WhatsApp business account. Otherwise, you will find that all the options we are about to discuss simply are not available.

 

The next step to enjoy WhatsApp Shopping is, logically, to create the catalog and the collections themselves. Let's go step by step.

This is a manual process that needs to be done individually, product by product. Unfortunately, we do not yet have the option to upload a feed en masse as can be done on other services.

 

You have to repeat the process as many times as you want to include products (with a limit of 500), but keep in mind one thing: the upload of items is subject to review by the Meta team.

 

This means they will not be available immediately, and in some cases, you may need to appeal if they are not approved for review.

 

Once approved, a product can be easily maintained by editing any of its characteristics. If, for some reason, we decide that we no longer want that product in our WhatsApp store, we can delete it or temporarily hide it (very useful, for example, if we run out of stock but are planning to restock).

When we have a good number of products, it is possible (and recommended) that we want to organize them into collections. This offers a more segmented experience to each customer, especially when we have a horizontal catalog with different product categories on our eCommerce.

 

As you wll see, it is not much different from the logic of Facebook collections.

 

Simply tap on the three vertical dots or the arrow icon, select the collections option, and all that's left is to give it a name and select the products you want to include.

 

In the same route, you can find the option to rearrange, in case you need to make any adjustments to the organization of the products.

Alright, we have our catalog. Now, other questions arise, such as how do I get it to my customer? How will they interact and buy on WhatsApp?

 

First, it is important to differentiate between WhatsApp store and other actions. Once your catalog is set up, users who visit your profile will find a new icon next to your name at the top; a house with a storefront and an awning (basically, a store).

 

When they tap on it, they will have direct access to your complete catalog. It is a very simple format, adapted to mobile, where you scroll vertically. The potential customer taps on the product, and a detail of it opens with two buttons: one to request information by opening a message or directly adding to the cart.

 

This cart functions like any eCommerce cart, allowing us to add different products or multiple units of the same item. Then we send that cart via WhatsApp and manage it directly with the store.

 

In some countries, you can pay via WhatsApp and complete the transaction without leaving the application, but for now, there are very few geographical areas that allow this.

 

But, as I was saying, we have to think about other ways to get our catalog to customers who don't directly come to buy through WhatsApp. The best way is always to encourage community and exclusivity, through private groups or by creating a channel where we can be in constant contact with them.

 

And, of course, by combining functionalities. Since WhatsApp is one of the customer service channels commonly used, having the ability to share product listings literally as if we were sharing a photo or a location makes us take a leap to the next segment of the conversion funnel.

Some time ago, we showcased the eCommerce success story of Laagam. This online fashion store has managed to adapt and understand the digital channel, like very few competitors have been able to do.

 

Just as they saw the potential of streaming for direct-to-consumer business models, they have been pioneers in integrating WhatsApp as a sales channel.

 

For quite some time now, they have exported their Twitch strategy to this platform. They work with private groups where they post their new drops or releases, and they have also integrated Shopping so they can now make real-time sales.