Saviour Adugba
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned platform, has said that it is looking to develop more services around shopping, payments and customer service on its WhatsApp Business app. This was revealed in a post on the official WhatsApp blog.
The company says that it is focusing on developing the functionalities of its business app because the COVID-19 pandemic has altered how people do business, noting that many people around the world have turned to WhatsApp as alternative means of promoting and selling products and services.
“The global pandemic has made clear that businesses need fast and efficient ways to service their customers and make sales. WhatsApp has become a simple and convenient resource in this time. 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.
“Though there is much more we need to build. 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,” a message on the WhatsApp official blog stated.
The organisation says that it is focusing mainly on three areas of development including; shopping, Facebook hosting services for customer communications, and business sales services.
In the same vein, WhatsApp says it will charge users of its business app for some of the services but maintains that the regular WhatsApp platform will continue to be free.
“We will charge business customers for some of the services we offer, which will help WhatsApp continue building a business of our own while we provide and expand free end-to-end encrypted text, video and voice calling for more than two billion people,” it said.
