Facebook has been rapidly expanding the shopping features on its properties in an effort to monetize the feature and its platform. After expanding the shopping feature on Instagram, the company is now making inroads with WhatsApp.
The social media giant has announced that it is expanding the in-app shopping feature on WhatsApp by allowing users to buy products directly from chats. A promotional video shared by the company shows how the transaction would go down.
A user messages a business and initiates the conversation or process, and the other end can reply with a link to a product catalog. The shopper can then add items to their cart and checkout from the app itself.
It’s noteworthy that WhatsApp currently offers companies a way to present product information and initiate discussions for transactions. It recently added support for QR codes and the ability to share catalog links in chats.
The company is likely to use Facebook Pay to carry out transactions. The feature was in testing in Brazil earlier this year but was later halted because of issues with the country’s Central Bank. WhatsApp’s own payment system has also been in the beta phase for more than two years in India as the company has not been able to secure the necessary licenses in the country.
