What started as a messaging app has grown over the years to become a business platform. The introduction of the business WhatsApp app by Meta creates a platform for small business owners to sell their items and communicate with their customers.
As Whatsapp keeps getting better, people are also getting more innovative. Recently, a “button” feature was introduced in the application. This button has made it easy for us to shop on the app without leaving it, something we could only do on websites. This means you get to pick your items, continue to order, and then pay while still on the app. It’s a new trend that is emerging in the markets.
With this feature, consumers buy goods directly from suppliers through an intermediary. It has led to what we refer to as business-to-consumer(B2C). The emerging markets have also been keen on embracing Whatsapp business ideas. That is India and Brazil, where WhatsApp shops are already in place.
India: e-commerce giant Reliance launches JioMart on WhatsApp
Reliance’s JioMart is an online shop in India by Reliance retail stores launched in 2020. The parent company, Reliance Industries Limited, began in 2006 as a retail store offering food, groceries, footwear, toys, and more. With many physical outlets across India, the company has elevated to e-commerce. But in 2020, Reliance Industries, in collaboration with Meta, came up with JioMart.
It is a WhatsApp shopping platform launched recently for an end-to-end service between Hötapp and customers in India. Jiomart, in collaboration with WhatsApp, gives its users an entire grocery catalog.
This came during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when we were to remain indoors. Mukesh Ambani saw an opportunity to reach out to people in their homes who were now using WhatsApp like never before.
The founder, Mukesh Ambani, believes it is one way of propelling India into a digital society.
Brazil: the pandemic accelerated WhatsApp shopping
Trela e-commerce is based in Brazil and was founded by Guilherme Nazareth, Guilherme Alvarenga, and Joao Jonk in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. It is a startup that connects food vendors to consumers through WhatsApp groups. They buy the groceries at a discount and get free delivery.
The idea came from a community-run Whatsapp sales group. The members would buy goods in bulk to cut costs. There was an intermediary in between. But Trela is focused on connecting vendors with consumers.
How Trela works is that the group members get a notification of an update on a new food product. This notification has a link that a user clicks. They will then be directed to a website that has the catalog. From there, they can then make a purchase.
The platform has created full-time job opportunities for Brazilians. Anybody can create a group connecting their neighborhood and link it with Trela. Having company-owned groups has exposed the customers to the vendors, allowing them to get huge discounts. That is unlike when they were community-based.
It is one way of ensuring the growth of brands. WhatsApp is popular among people, and so enabling WhatsApp purchases has brought about new customers who would otherwise not buy online.
Main photo: Ganesh Dhamodkar, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
