WhatsApp has grown from a platform for chatting with friends to a global platform for people, businesses and organisations to communicate on. Many new features have been added in recent years, and many more are yet to come. WhatsApp will continue to transform into an all-round platform from which any business can benefit.
In this article, we take a closer look at the developments of the largest messaging platform worldwide.
Contactless Shopping Takes Over
The Covid-19 era has brought a number of changes. One of them is the need for “contactless” shopping. This situation has given a boost to conversational commerce. Also, the use of WhatsApp increased by 40% during the months of the corona crisis. Therefore, it has become the platform where home-bound consumers can order their products.
Apart from being able to order things now, one of the widely used features of WhatsApp is ‘Order & Pick Up’, where consumers reserve a time to pick up their products at the shop. This helps to avoid crowds in shops.
While corona has disrupted many businesses, it has also created opportunities. The growth in conversational commerce and contactless shopping is clearly one of them. With all the developments going on, WhatsApp is poised to seize this opportunity and establish itself as one of the biggest commerce platforms.
The Power of WhatsApp Business as a Platform
The combination of WhatsApp being the biggest messaging platform, and all the convenient features that optimise the user experience, make it an interesting platform for businesses. It has been used for a long time by many people to communicate with friends and family, so using it to chat with a company to ask questions or make purchases is a logical next step.
Furthermore, WhatsApp is constantly adding new features to make the conversation experience easier and more interactive. These features include quick replies and buttons that allow users to communicate with companies more easily and quickly. For example, the WhatsApp Business App, aimed at small businesses, includes a catalogue function where customers can browse your company’s products.
Pay Easily in Two Clicks
As customers have grown accustomed to digital payments, their expectations and demands have also risen rapidly. And that’s exactly what WhatsApp’s fast payment experience is about. WhatsApp Business allows your customers to make instant payments over WhatsApp while they are in the process of making their purchase. In doing so, they don’t have to navigate between multiple apps. In addition, you can use notifications as payment reminders.
Since WhatsApp is constantly creating new features, consumers are also using it more and more. In the near future, more transactions will take place over WhatsApp because it is easy and quick for consumers to use. While consumers are now increasingly using the platform to communicate with businesses, it will soon also become normal to pay directly in the same app.
With WhatsApp developing quickly, it’s important for your company to also make use of this popular messaging platform. Take a look at what we can offer you at Conversation24.
