Facebook expands Shops to WhatsApp, Marketplace in e-commerce push

WhatsApp will allow users to chat
before buying anything from the shop.

Mark Zuckerberg said the feature
in Marketplace will help people create an online store on Facebook and once the
shop setting is enabled, it can be used on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The founder of Facebook said that
Instagram Visual Search will help users find products based on images while ShopAds
will personalize the shopping experience.

The Marketplace Shops feature is
currently only available in the United States.

The WhatsApp feature of Shops is
being offered in several countries, while Shop Ads will be introduced in the
United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In the Instagram and Facebook
marketplace, the option of shops is already prominent in the apps, but WhatsApp
Shops are a prominent feature.

Earlier this week, a live audio
feature based on a copy of Club House was also made part of the social media
site by Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg announced these
new e-commerce features during a conversation in the live audio room.

Speaking in a live audio room on
Facebook, Zuckerberg said Facebook is also working on ways to use the additional
fact that customers can try items, including ads.

He said that more than one
billion people use the marketplace every month, so we’re making it easy for
businesses to set up their shops there to reach more people.

During Facebook’s F8 conference
earlier this month, the company announced updates to WhatsApp for Business.

Earlier it took several weeks to
create a business account but now it will be possible in a few minutes.

The WhatsApp Shop feature will be
available in the coming weeks.