Meta announces new ways to find and buy from businesses on WhatsApp

In a massive e-commerce push, Meta has launched new ways to find and buy from businesses that are registered on WhatsApp. The instant chat messenger will now let you “browse businesses by category – such as travel or banking – or search for one by name to find it.” However, the launch is limited to select markets, including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia, and the UK.

Meta also guarantees that users’ privacy is protected when they use the business search feature. The company also claims “what users search for is processed in a way that cannot be linked back to their accounts.” WhatsApp users in Brazil will be able to get something extra out of it, as they will also be able to search for small businesses as well.

Aside from ‘Find a Business,’ Meta has also told us about how ‘Message a Business’ and ‘Buy from a Business’ will work on WhatsApp. To be able to buy from a business on WhatsApp is not new because Meta launched this feature some time back in India. The idea is pretty simple: buyers can add items to the cart by visiting the store, after which they can place an order right from the chat window. Meta is currently testing the same feature for the people in Brazil.

‘Message a Business’ is self-explanatory. It lets users message a business to gather information about opening a bank account, purchasing a train ticket, and ordering groceries.

These features should soon start to appear on your WhatApp application if you are living in any of the countries mentioned above. Although Meta has not mentioned it in its official blog post, the “new ways” will probably be rolled out through an app update. Let us know in the Comments section if you have received any of the new capabilities.