By Dave Sebastian

The messaging platform WhatsApp has added a feature that allows users to scan a QR code and chat directly with a business. Businesses can use the feature to share product catalogs on WhatsApp as links.

The move is the latest effort by Facebook Inc., which acquired WhatsApp in 2014, to offer more e-commerce tools to companies. Facebook earlier this year backed away from efforts to sell ads on the platform in its bid to monetize the platform, a plan that drove WhatsApp's creators to resign.

WhatsApp said on its blog that more than two billion people use its app and more than 40 million people view a business catalog on the platform each month.

Other small-business-focused products Facebook recently launched include a click-for-delivery feature for restaurants, gift-card options and fundraisers for coronavirus-stricken businesses. The company has moved slowly on commerce in the past. After letting a group of major brands experiment with in-app purchases on Instagram more than a year ago, Facebook still hasn't made those features available to businesses platform-wide.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 09, 2020 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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