Another year and another game changer. The digital landscape is set for more disruption in the coming months with the emergence of ecommerce features on messenger platforms such as WhatsApp. The acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook and the explosion of its global users over the last ten years has resulted in the platform becoming an extremely attractive option for brands to engage and interact with their customers.
WhatsApp have added interactive features such as group chat and video capabilities in recent years. In 2019, WhatsApp launched a specialised app called WhatsApp Business which has already accumulated over five million active users. WhatsApp Business allows brands to create a public business profile that can include links to their ecommerce store and a catalogue of their products. The current features on WhatsApp Business are only the beginning of what is to come. WhatsApp will begin rolling out their online payment feature this year. This feature has already launched for WhatsApp users in Brazil as a test market and will be available globally very soon.