The launch of grocery shopping on WhatsApp is part of a strategic partnership between Meta and Jio Platforms to accelerate India’s digital transformation and fuel economic growth in the country
Tech giant Meta partnered with the e-commerce venture between India’s Reliance Retail and Jio Platforms, the country’s largest telecom subscriber, to bring grocery shopping to WhatsApp.
Meta and JioPlatforms began testing integration with select users two years ago. If JioMart proves successful, a commerce engine could become a major revenue source for WhatsApp.
Customers in India will be able to start shopping on JioMart through WhatsApp simply by sending ‘Hi’ to the JioMart number. They may browse JioMart’s whole grocery catalogue on WhatsApp too. The integration allows adding items to a cart and making payments via local UPI. All those actions don’t require leaving the instant messaging service.
Furthermore, WhatsApp has recently got the approval to extend its UPI-powered payments service to 100 million users in the country after several delays and setbacks. Today the messenger service is used by about half a billion Indians each month.
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