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What is the WhatsApp catalog?

A WhatsApp catalog is a built-in, mobile-native product showcase that lives directly inside your WhatsApp Business account. Instead of pushing customers off to a website or app, you let them scroll through your items, tap into product cards with photos, prices and descriptions, add things to a cart, and place the order — all without ever leaving the conversation. For Indian businesses selling everything from sarees and sweets to electronics and salon packages, it turns a chat thread into a lightweight storefront that works on any phone, on any connection, in the app people already open dozens of times a day.

Quick answer

The WhatsApp catalog is an in-chat product showcase where customers browse items, add them to a cart and check out without leaving WhatsApp. It syncs with Shopify or WooCommerce, pairs with in-chat payments, and needs no website or app — making it one of the fastest ways for Indian businesses to sell where buyers already are.

How the WhatsApp catalog actually works

Think of the catalog as a folder of product cards attached to your business profile. Each item holds an image, a name, a price, a description, an optional product URL and a SKU or item code. Customers reach it in three ways: by tapping the storefront icon at the top of your chat, by opening your business profile, or by receiving a product message you send them mid-conversation. When someone taps a product, they can add it to a cart, adjust quantities, and send the whole cart back to you as a structured order message — you receive it as a neat itemised list rather than a jumble of 'I want 2 of the blue one'. This removes the biggest friction in chat commerce: the back-and-forth of confirming what the customer actually meant.

  • Product cards carry image, title, price, description and item code
  • Customers browse the full catalog or receive specific product messages
  • A cart bundles multiple items into one structured order message
  • You reply with a payment link or in-chat payment to close the sale

Single product vs. multi-product messages

Beyond the always-on catalog, WhatsApp gives you two ways to put products directly in front of a customer during a conversation. A single-product message spotlights one item — ideal when a customer asks 'do you have this in red?' and you drop the exact card into the chat. A multi-product message lets you send a curated shortlist of up to 30 items from your catalog, perfect for 'here are the five kurtas under one thousand rupees you asked about'. Both are far more persuasive than pasting a link, because the customer sees the photo and price inline and can add to cart with a tap. Used well, these messages shorten the path from interest to order to just a few taps.

Pairing the catalog with in-chat payments

A catalog on its own captures intent; pairing it with payments captures revenue. Once a customer sends you a cart, you can respond with a payment link or, where enabled, an in-chat payment flow that lets them pay without switching apps. This matters enormously in India, where a shopper distracted by a redirect to a separate gateway may simply abandon the purchase. Keeping browse, cart and pay inside one thread compresses the funnel and reduces drop-off. It also gives you a clean record: the order message, the confirmation and the payment all sit in the same conversation, which makes fulfilment and support far easier to track.

Syncing your catalog from Shopify or WooCommerce

You do not have to build or maintain your catalog by hand. If you already run a store on Shopify or WooCommerce, your product data — titles, images, prices, stock — can flow into your WhatsApp catalog through a connected product feed, so what customers see in chat stays in step with your website. That means a price change or a new arrival propagates without someone re-uploading images one by one. For businesses with hundreds of SKUs, this sync is the difference between a catalog that is genuinely useful and one that quietly goes stale. InfiQ helps you connect these sources correctly so your in-chat storefront reflects live inventory rather than last month's.

Where a WhatsApp catalog fits — and where it doesn't

The catalog shines for conversational, consideration-driven, or repeat-purchase selling: fashion boutiques fielding size questions, D2C brands running influencer campaigns that land in DMs, local grocers and pharmacies taking reorders, and service businesses showing packages. It is deliberately lightweight, so it is not a replacement for a full e-commerce site with faceted search, thousands of variants and complex checkout logic. The smart pattern is to treat the catalog as the top of a short funnel — surface a focused selection, answer questions in real time, and close in-chat — while your website handles depth. Getting that division right is where most of the ROI comes from.

  • Great for boutiques, D2C, local retail, pharmacies and service packages
  • Ideal when campaigns or ads drive people straight into chat
  • Not a substitute for a large catalogue site with heavy search and filtering
  • Best used as a curated, conversation-led shortlist that closes fast

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need a website or app to use the WhatsApp catalog?+
No. The catalog lives entirely inside your WhatsApp Business account, so customers browse, add to cart and place an order without any separate website or app. If you do run a Shopify or WooCommerce store, you can sync product data into the catalog, but it is not a requirement to get started.
How many products can a WhatsApp catalog hold?+
A catalog can hold a large number of products, and a single multi-product message can feature up to 30 items at once. In practice, most businesses see the best results by keeping the in-chat selection curated and relevant rather than dumping their entire inventory, since a focused shortlist converts better in a conversation.
Can customers pay directly inside the chat?+
Yes. After a customer sends you a cart, you can respond with a payment link or, where in-chat payments are enabled, let them pay without leaving WhatsApp. Keeping browse, cart and pay in one thread reduces drop-off and gives you a clean, trackable record of the whole order.
How is the WhatsApp catalog different from a WhatsApp broadcast?+
A catalog is an on-demand product showcase customers browse or receive as product messages, focused on selling specific items. A broadcast sends a template message to many opted-in contacts at once, focused on reaching an audience. They work together: a marketing broadcast drives people into a chat where your catalog and product messages close the sale.
Does using the catalog cost extra per message?+
The catalog itself is a feature of your WhatsApp Business account. What you pay for is the messaging: WhatsApp bills per delivered message by category — marketing, utility or authentication. Replies you send inside the free 24-hour service window after a customer messages you are not charged today, though service-window replies become chargeable from 1 October 2026. InfiQ shows transparent rupee pricing so you can plan campaign costs clearly.
Can I sync my catalog from Shopify or WooCommerce automatically?+
Yes. Product data such as titles, images, prices and stock can flow from Shopify or WooCommerce into your WhatsApp catalog through a connected product feed, so your in-chat storefront stays aligned with your website. This avoids re-uploading products by hand and keeps pricing and availability current.
Do I need customers to opt in before sending product messages?+
To proactively send marketing or product messages, yes — the contact must have opted in, and marketing messages go out as approved templates. If a customer messages you first, you can reply freely within the 24-hour service window, which is exactly when sending a single-product or multi-product message from your catalog is most natural and effective.
Who owns the WhatsApp Business account and catalog when I sign up through InfiQ?+
You do. As an official Meta Business Partner, InfiQ sets you up with full ownership of your Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID) and your WhatsApp Business account, including your catalog. Your products, contacts and account stay yours, so you are never locked into a provider that holds your storefront hostage.