WhatsApp announced plans to upgrade its messaging services for businesses, saying the covid-19 pandemic has shown a need for a fast and efficient way to talk to customers and conduct sales. The company noted that 175 million people message a WhatsApp business account every day. WhatsApp will in particular focus on new shopping options and Facebook hosting services for business customers and will start charging for some of the services it provides to businesses using its messaging platform.
For shopping, the company will expand ways for people to check out available products and make purchases right from a chat. The company will also make it easier for businesses to integrate these features into their existing commerce and customer systems.
The company will over the coming months also provide a new option for businesses to manage their WhatsApp messages via hosting services that Facebook plans to offer. The company said this will make it easier for SMEs to get started, sell products, keep their inventory up to date and to quickly respond to messages received.
Finally, WhatsApp said it will start charging business customers for some of the services. This will help the company continue building its own business, it said.
