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WhatsApp for Business is becoming better than before. The Facebook-owned tech giant is piloting a new directory in Brazil that allows users to find local services and shops.
WhatsApp for Business will be better than before
WhatsApp is famous as a messaging service between two people or in groups. However, the app is growing to become an important part of e-commerce. (Valium) As of October 2020, it recorded over 175 million global users of the app interacting with businesses on WhatsApp.”I’m excited we’re starting to pilot a local business directory within WhatsApp. This will help you find and contact local businesses, like your neighborhood coffee shop, florist, clothing store, and more,” tweeted Will Cathcart, the head.
WhatsApp has been offering a standalone app for small businesses since 2018. Since then, it has added several useful features like shopping carts and product catalogs. The messaging app also offers in-app payments in India and Brazil, allowing direct payment. Additionally, the app also lets people send money to friends and family.
What is the new yellow pages style directory?
The new e-commerce push created few problems for WhatsApp since it updated the privacy policy. The update was assumed to be WhatsApp’s ability to share data from people’s chats with Facebook and in turn other agencies. However, “Like everything we do at WhatsApp, we’ve built this in a private way: we’re not logging your location or what businesses you browse,” assured Cathcart.
The test in Sao Paulo, Brazil lets WhatsApp users find local services and shops through WhatsApp’s directory. The features of Facebook’s latest approach to support e-commerce. “This could be … the primary way that people start a commerce process in WhatsApp,” said Matt Idema. Idema is Facebook’s VP of business messaging.
Moreover, WhatsApp currently does not run ads like Instagram and Facebook. Idema added that Indonesia and India were good candidates for expanding this new feature. “There’s definitely a route on ads, which is Facebook’s core business model, that over the long term I think in some form or another will be part of the business model for WhatsApp,” he added.
