These “immersive virtual showcases”, already present on Facebook and Instagram since 2020, will “soon” be integrated into its messaging service.
The transformation of Whatsapp into a solution for businesses to their customers is continuing. Facebook’s messaging service is just recovering from a controversy over updating its terms of service.
The approach, which was finally the subject of a turnaround, is part of the will of the social network to set up Boutiques, its online sales service, to its application. The social network officially announced it in a press release on June 23, 2021.
An “immersive virtual showcase”
Already present on Facebook and Instagram since May 2020, Boutiques allows creators and businesses to exhibit their content online and interact with potential customers directly in the messaging service.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company already lists more than 1.2 million of these online stores, attracting more than 300 million monthly visitors.
Motivated by the “change in the way users consume their purchases”, Boutiques is billed as “an immersive full-screen virtual storefront, which allows businesses to develop their brand message and encourage discovery of their product” .
Facebook is also waiving “fees for professional sellers until June 2022.”
No information on data transfers
In the background remains the question of updating WhatsApp. The latter is presented, among other things, as a security solution for online payment between business and customer. She worried users about the transfer of data between the social network and the messaging service.
In its press release, the company specifies its desire to “personalize the user experience”, for example “by sending buyers to where they are most likely to make a purchase”. An approach that will obviously not be done without the use of personal data, used for targeted advertising and personalized promotion, among others.
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality are also two means under study to “improve the shopping experience of users”.
If Facebook has abandoned the idea of forcing the update on all its users, no concrete information has yet been provided on how customer data will be shared between WhatsApp and its parent company.
Always on the lookout for new resources, Facebook said it will soon add advertising directly to the apps of its virtual reality system, the Oculus VR headset. Some applications concerned being paid, the announcement caused clear dissatisfaction among users.
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