WhatsApp Hits 1 Billion Users. Can Your OpenCart Store Take Advantage?

February 1, 2016 - WhatsApp officially reported that their mobile app has reached 1 billion monthly active users.

This is a huge milestone for the Facebook-owned app, as it currently beats the Messenger app of the world’s leading social media network by more than 200 million users. The numbers are impressive - 42 billion messages and 250 million videos are transferred daily over WhatsApp.

In this post, we will look at this record-beating event from an OpenCart perspective.

The traffic generated by the world’s fastest growing messaging app can have a groundbreaking impact on an Ecommerce store if it’s channeled and utilized correctly. Until recently, it was only available for mobile devices, but you can now receive messages on desktops as well.

WhatsApp allows its users to send text messages via the app, which is how it got its popularity - a simple way to avoid getting charged for sending SMS. WhatsApp has zero tolerance towards advertising, so this is a miss for anyone interested in exploring WhatsApp as an ad channel. What you can do instead as a store owner is focus on improving customer experience by providing fast and efficient customer replies.

However, this allows for building a more intimate connection with a narrow audience and use the app for various marketing purposes. The first example is conducting surveys:

• Feedback. You can gather user’s opinions and learn more about what they think of your store and products. This can help you improve various weak points that your customers might have pointed out or complained about.

• Transparency. The direct communication that WhatsApp offers can create a more transparent public image for your store. This kind of interaction is crucial for marketing experts.

The free WhatsAppShare module can put your store and products into the conversations of many people. Once you install this extension, you can enable the share button that will only be visible within the mobile device realm. Don’t get confused if you cannot see it on your desktop.

You can easily set the module up, modify the share message and tweak the button dimensions that also feature two different designs.

Having this button in your website enables mobile visitors using the app to share your products with their contacts in a matter of seconds. 1 billion WhatsApp users means that you will have a huge reach when integrating a feature which connects your store to the number one messaging app.

Summary

The dominance of mobile use among online consumers will become even greater in 2016. Taking every measure to make your OpenCart store more accessible and mobile-friendly lets you narrow the gap between your business and its audience.