How to sell on WhatsApp: catalog, carts, payments and delivery updates

To sell on WhatsApp properly, you need four things: a catalog of your products, a way to send those products inside a chat, a way to turn the customer's cart into an order, and a payment link they can pay by UPI, card, netbanking or wallet. Add delivery updates in the same thread and the customer can go from "is this available?" to "delivered" without ever opening a website.

We'll walk through each piece using an example saree shop in Coimbatore, then be straight about when a website is still the better choice. The steps assume the WhatsApp Business API, since that's where carts, payment links and a shared team inbox come together.

What do you need to sell on WhatsApp?

You need a WhatsApp business number, a product catalog connected to it, a payment gateway that can create payment links, and someone (or something) to answer chats quickly. Everything else is polish.

The reason Indian shops try this is easy to see. WhatsApp has more than 500 million users in India, according to TechCrunch, and many customers already message a shop to ask about price and stock before buying. Selling on WhatsApp lets that same chat end in an order instead of "OK, I'll come to the shop".

If you're still on the free WhatsApp Business app, it has its own catalog tools, and for one person on one phone that may be enough. Read WhatsApp Business API vs the Business app if you're unsure which one you need.

What does buying on WhatsApp look like for the customer?

The customer taps through a menu, browses a set of products, adds what they like to a cart, sends the cart and pays from a link. Here's an example from a made-up saree shop in Coimbatore. Tap the buttons to see each step.

Notice what the shop did not do: it didn't ask the customer to type her address, product name and size in one long message. Buttons, product messages and carts do the structured work, and a person steps in only when needed.

How do you set up a WhatsApp catalog?

You add each product with a name, price, photos and a short description, and connect the catalog to your WhatsApp business number through your provider (or sync it from your online store if you have one). The WhatsApp catalog is then what customers browse when you send product messages.

A few things make a catalog sell better:

• Use the words customers use. "Kanchipuram silk saree, maroon" beats "KSS-0423". People see these names in chat.
• Show the final price. If GST or shipping changes the total, say so in the description, so nobody feels tricked at the payment step.
• Good photos matter more than many photos. Daylight, plain background, one close-up of the fabric or finish.
• Start small. Thirty to fifty of your best sellers is a reasonable first month. You can add the rest once the process works.
• Keep stock honest. Mark items unavailable the day they sell out. Nothing kills trust faster than "sorry, that one's gone" after someone sends a cart.

Should you send one product or several at once?

Send a single product when the customer asked about one thing, and a multi-product message when they're browsing. Meta's catalog documentation says multi-product messages can show up to 30 products, organised in sections.

There's one rule to remember. Inside the 24-hour customer service window (after the customer messages you), you can send product messages without a template. To reach someone who hasn't messaged recently, you need an approved template, and a template that promotes products is a marketing template, priced as one.

How does a WhatsApp cart become an order?

The customer's cart arrives in your chat as a message listing the items, quantities and prices. You (or your system) check stock, confirm the delivery charge, and reply with the final total and a payment link. Once the payment comes through, it's an order.

The weak spot is the gap between "cart sent" and "paid". A cart is not a payment, and some people send one just to check the total. Decide in advance how you'll handle that:

• Reply to every cart within minutes during working hours. A cart that sits unanswered for an evening often goes cold.
• If someone doesn't pay, one polite reminder the next day is fine. Three is pestering.
• Give every order a number and use it in every message, so your team and the customer are always talking about the same order.
• Record orders somewhere other than a phone's chat list. When two people handle chats, a shared orders page or a shared team inbox stops orders being missed or packed twice.

How do customers pay on WhatsApp in India?

Customers in India can pay through all UPI apps, cards, netbanking and wallets, according to Meta's payments documentation for India. There are two routes: payments built into the WhatsApp chat through gateways with a deep integration (Meta lists Razorpay, PayU, Billdesk and Zaakpay), or a payment link sent in the chat (Meta lists Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree).

For most small businesses, a payment link is the simpler starting point. The customer taps it, pays on the gateway's page and comes back to the chat. You need an account with the gateway in your business name, and the gateway sets its own fees, so check those on their site.

What about cash on delivery?

You can still offer COD, but go in with your eyes open. Data from logistics platform Shipway for FY25 showed under 2% of prepaid D2C orders returned, against nearly 26% of non-prepaid (COD) orders. Those are platform figures, and prepaid and COD buyers may simply be different kinds of customers, so a COD buyer switched to prepaid won't automatically return as little. Still, WhatsApp makes prepaid easy because the payment link arrives right after the cart, so some shops nudge buyers towards prepaid and keep COD for repeat customers. If you do offer COD, confirm the order before shipping; our guide to order notifications covers that.

How do you send delivery updates after a WhatsApp sale?

Send shipped, out-for-delivery and delivered messages in the same chat where the customer bought, using approved utility templates. Keeping everything in one thread means the customer never has to ask "which number do I message about my order?".

The shipped message should carry the courier name, AWB number and a tracking link. The out-for-delivery message gets someone home. The delivered message should invite the customer to reply if anything's wrong. We go through each one, with wording and costs, in our post on Shopify order notifications on WhatsApp; the same messages work if you sell only on WhatsApp.

When is a website still better than selling on WhatsApp?

A website is still better when customers want to browse a large range alone, compare many options, or find you through Google. WhatsApp selling shines when people already talk to you before buying. Most growing shops end up using both.

How do you sell on WhatsApp with ConvoBox?

In ConvoBox you connect your catalog (add products or sync them from your store), connect Razorpay or PayU so each order can get a payment link, and connect your delivery partner, such as Delhivery, so shipments and tracking updates flow into the chat. Every WhatsApp cart becomes an order on the orders page with its status and customer details.

1. Add your products

   Name, price, photos and stock, or sync them from your store.

2. Connect payments

   Link your Razorpay or PayU account so payment links can be created for each order.

3. Connect delivery

   Link your courier account so shipping and delivery messages go out automatically.

4. Share products where customers are

   Agents send single products, product lists or the full catalog from the team inbox; broadcasts and chatbot replies can carry them too.

5. Watch the orders page

   Check unpaid carts each evening and follow up once.

The catalog, payment links, the orders page and delivery integrations (Delhivery, Gativia) are on the Grow plan, and Shopify growth automations are on Scale; see pricing for details. The full feature list is on the WhatsApp commerce page, and if you sell clothing, the fashion and apparel page shows how boutiques put it together.