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to help businesses to better showcase their products and services.

WhatsApp announced this feature already back in October 2020. Now the time has come and WhatsApp has officially started rolling out the Shopping button as the company announced on Twitter. The new function supports businesses in presenting their offers to potential customers. Users benefit from the direct accessibility of product catalogs.

In September 2020, WhatsApp added the Shopping button already in a WhatsApp beta version for Android. Now the feature is officially heading to Android and iPhone users globally.

How the new Shopping button works

The new Shopping button appears at the top of the chat screen of businesses that have set up a catalog of their products and services. The Shopping button, which looks like a storefront icon, replaces the previous voice call button. Which is replaced by a new multifunction button that starts either a voice or a video call.

Image: © WhatsApp

One tab on the Shopping button takes you directly from the chat screen to the business’s catalog. This allows users to explore, select, and purchase products and services directly via the chat while chatting with the business. The Shopping button is available to all businesses that are registered in the WhatsApp Business app and have set up a catalog with their offerings.

The catalog function was already activated for all users of the WhatsApp Business App in November last year. Previously, a catalog was only displayed while scrolling through the company’s profile. With the new Shopping button, potential customers can see immediately whether the business has a catalog and can access it directly from the chat. This makes finding, exploring and buying products much faster and easier for WhatsApp users. Companies can present their products and services more easily and, above all, more prominently. According to WhatsApp, the Shopping button appears automatically in the customers chat if a company has set up a catalog in the WhatsApp Business App.

Image: © WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s Shopping Button expands e-commerce potential

For some time now, Facebook has focused on expanding the shopping options in its apps and messenger services. In the past few months, the company has integrated several new shopping features into the Facebook and Instagram app, now WhatsApp follows.

In June 2020, Facebook Shops was launched. The feature enables businesses to set up one shop that users can reach via both Facebook and Instagram. In July, Instagram Shop followed. A new shopping section, that enables users to browse through various shops in one place. With the latest Instagram update that has just been released, Instagram Shop is even prominently integrated on Instagram’s home screen. In August, the feature was also integrated into the Facebook app with Facebook Shops. WhatsApp’s new Shopping button is another step towards expanding the e-commerce potential in Facebook’s apps and messengers.

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