The messaging app Whatsapp is set on a new avenue to explore monetising prospects.
The Facebook-owned has come out with three announcements aimed to boost the business infrastructure across the platform.
First up, WhatsApp is expanding ways for people to make purchases right from a chat. Secondly, it’s launching Facebook Hosting Services to host businesses’ online assets and activity. Thirdly, it will start to charge companies using WhatsApp for Business.
“For the last two years, we’ve provided the WhatsApp Business app and WhatsApp Business API to help businesses of all sizes manage their chats. We’ve listened to feedback on what’s worked and believe WhatsApp can help make messaging the best way for consumers and businesses to connect,” WhatsApp said while making the new announcements.
This is how easy we think messaging a business should be – seeing a store’s catalog in a chat, adding an item to your cart, placing your order and getting fast responses to questions. We are looking forward to bringing these experiences to more people on WhatsApp! pic.twitter.com/nkJyC3dOzgOctober 22, 2020
WhatsApp said more than 175 million people every day message a WhatsApp Business account.
“Our research shows people prefer to message a business to get help and they’re more likely to make a purchase when they can do so.”
Keeping this in mind, WhatsApp is expanding ways for people to check out available products and make purchases right from a chat. “We also want to make it easier for businesses to integrate these features into their existing commerce and customer solutions. This will help many small businesses who have been most impacted in this time.”
While the WhatsApp Business ‘shopping button’ is rolling out globally, users in India will have to wait as the feature will arrive later.
Quite clearly, this is a step towards WhatsApp Pay, which ran into problems in Brazil, and has met legal issues in India.
Facebook Hosting Services
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The second prong in Facebook/WhatsApp new business strategy is hosting services. Though it has not set a time frame for it, it is clear that Facebook has, in the long run, hopes of taking on AWS.
“Businesses have varying technology needs and want choice in the companies they work with to host and manage customer communications, particularly with remote work increasing,” WhatsApp said and added: “Which is why over the coming months, we plan to expand our partnerships with business solution providers we’ve worked with over the last two years. We will also provide a new option for businesses to manage their WhatsApp messages via hosting services that Facebook plans to offer.
The company feels this option will make it easier for small and medium size businesses to get started, sell products, keep their inventory up to date, and quickly respond to messages they receive – wherever their employees are.
WhatsApp Business Sales
Facebook has not been charging for WhatsApp Business till now. But that is coming to an end. Or at least in a few cases. “We will charge business customers for some of the services we offer, which will help WhatsApp continue building a business of our own,” WhatsApp said.
But it will provide and expand free end-to-end encrypted text, video and voice calling for more than two billion people.
There was no clarity on which services will be charged.
WhatsApp said it will gradually roll out these services in the months to come.
Source: WhatsApp