Buying things through WhatsApp is expected to get a lot easier today with the introduction of a shopping cart.
It may be a feature we are all used to at most online stores, but the shopping cart hasn’t featured in Facebook’s messaging app until now. WhatsApp realized adding a cart made a lot of sense following the introduction of Catalogs, which allowed users to easily and quickly view what was available from a business using the app to promote their goods.
“Starting today, we’re excited to bring carts to WhatsApp. Carts are great when messaging businesses that typically sell multiple items at once, like a local restaurant or clothing store. With carts, people can browse a catalog, select multiple products and send the order as one message to the business. This will make it simpler for businesses to keep track of order inquiries, manage requests from customers and close sales.”
The cart works just as you’d expect. Visit the business you want to order from, tap the shopping button next to their name, and from the catalog of products that opens, select the product you want to buy, tap “Add to Cart,” and repeat until all desired items are in your cart. You can then view and edit the contents of the cart before sending it to the business via a WhatsApp message.
WhatsApp said the cart is rolling out “around the world” today, so if it isn’t available for you just yet, it should be before tomorrow. It’s also not a coincidence Facebook decided to launch this new feature in time for the holiday season as it’s sure to prove very popular and convenient.
