Why WhatsApp commerce matters
In much of the world, WhatsApp is the phone: open rates and reply behavior there embarrass email, and the channel collapses the funnel, discovery, question, order, and follow-up in one thread. For stores in India, Latin America, and beyond, it’s less a channel than the storefront’s front door.
What runs through the channel
- Conversational sellingCatalog shares, questions answered, carts closed in chat
- Transactional flowConfirmations, shipping updates, delivery alerts
- CareSupport where screenshots and voice notes are native
- Lifecycle touchesReview requests, replenishment nudges, opted-in offers
Questions
What are the rules of WhatsApp marketing?
Opt-in and template discipline: business-initiated messages require consent and pre-approved templates, with quality ratings punishing senders people block. The channel’s intimacy is the asset; spamming it spends the asset fastest.
Where should a store start with WhatsApp commerce?
Transactional first: order and delivery updates people genuinely want build the opt-in habit and the trust. Support and review requests ride the same thread naturally; promotional broadcasts come last, carefully.