Facebook is introducing new tools for businesses to connect with potential customers on its app in a bid to become a destination for online shoppers.
As Reuters reported this week, the new features will give shoppers a more personalized experience. For example, businesses will be able to put a button on their Instagram profile that lets people message them through WhatsApp.
Karandeep Anand, vice president of business products at Facebook, said a WhatsApp integration is especially important for customers in places like Brazil and India, where the Facebook-owned app is popular.
In addition, Facebook says it plans to begin testing a feature that allows brands to send emails through Facebook Business suite, which lets companies manage their presence across all of the platform’s different apps, in order to streamline how businesses reach consumers.
It will also test new work accounts to let employees manage business pages without needing to log in with their personal accounts.
Reuters notes that the new business tools were announced soon after WhatsApp began testing a feature in the Brazilian city of São Paulo that enables customers to find and services through a directory in the app in an effort to boost eCommerce on the service.
Read more: WhatsApp P2P Payments Return To Brazil
Earlier this year, Brazil approved another WhatsApp tool that allows some users to send money to friends and family after putting a temporary freeze on the practice out of concern that it could hurt local banks.
Users can see if the feature is available to them by opening a chat and clicking the share menu to see if a payment action is available. WhatsApp also allows users in India to make UPI payments.
Read more: Facebook Lays Out Its Vision For The Future Of Commerce
In an earnings call earlier this year, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg laid out his vision for the future of commerce on the platform. At the time, he noted that the Marketplace feature now records more than 1 billion visitors per month, while Facebook’s Shops feature sees more than 250 million monthly visitors to more than 1 million monthly active shops.
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