Glossary · 25 terms
Commerce & payments
Conversational commerce on WhatsApp: catalogues and product messages, carts and orders, payments and payment links, cash-on-delivery confirmation and the order updates that reduce returns.
Foundation· 10
Start here — the concepts everything else builds on.
- Abandoned CartA cart or checkout a shopper started but left before paying: the warmest lost sale an online store has, and the trigger for cart recovery.Read definition
- COD ConfirmationA WhatsApp message asking a cash-on-delivery buyer to confirm or cancel the order before it ships, screening out fake and impulse orders.Read definition
- Conversational CommerceSelling through a two-way chat: discovery, product browsing, cart, payment and after-sales support in one WhatsApp thread instead of a website journey.Read definition
- Meta Commerce ManagerMeta's tool for building and maintaining product catalogues (items, feeds, product sets, policy review) that a WhatsApp Business Account can connect to.Read definition
- Order Status UpdateUtility-template messages that tell customers where their order is — confirmed, shipped, out for delivery, delivered — with the details each stage needs.Read definition
- Payment LinkA hosted checkout URL from a payment gateway, sent in a WhatsApp message or button, that lets a customer pay by UPI, card or netbanking in a few taps.Read definition
- Payment ReminderA utility-template message telling a customer that a specific bill, EMI, premium or invoice is due or overdue, with the amount, the date and a way to pay.Read definition
- UPI PaymentUPIA real-time bank-to-bank payment over India's Unified Payments Interface, started from a WhatsApp chat by an in-chat bill, a UPI intent, a link or a QR code.Read definition
- WhatsApp CatalogThe product catalogue a business keeps in Meta Commerce Manager and connects to its WhatsApp Business Account, so customers can browse and order in chat.Read definition
- WhatsApp PaymentsThe ways a customer can pay a business from a WhatsApp chat — in India an in-chat bill paid by UPI, card or netbanking, and everywhere a gateway payment link.Read definition
Practitioner· 13
What you need once you are running it day to day.
- Address MessageAn interactive WhatsApp message that opens a native form for the customer's delivery address and returns it to the business as structured fields.Read definition
- Back-in-Stock AlertA WhatsApp message sent to shoppers who joined a sold-out product's waitlist, telling them the exact item they wanted is available again.Read definition
- Cart RecoveryA timed sequence of WhatsApp reminders, showing the shopper's exact items with a one-tap link back to checkout, that wins back abandoned carts.Read definition
- Catalog MessageAn interactive WhatsApp message with a View catalog button that opens the business's whole product catalogue inside the chat.Read definition
- COD-to-Prepaid ConversionInviting cash-on-delivery buyers to pay online before dispatch, over WhatsApp with a payment link and sometimes an incentive, to cut returns.Read definition
- In-Chat CartThe WhatsApp shopping cart a customer fills from your catalogue and sends as one order, which reaches your server as an order webhook.Read definition
- Multi-Product MessageMPMAn interactive WhatsApp message showing up to 30 catalogue products in up to 10 titled sections, so customers can browse and fill their cart in chat.Read definition
- NDR (Non-Delivery Report)NDRA courier's report that a delivery attempt failed and why, which the seller must act on — reattempt, new address or cancel — before it becomes an RTO.Read definition
- Payment GatewayThe service that processes a UPI, card, netbanking or wallet payment and settles it to the merchant, behind WhatsApp payment links and in-chat checkout.Read definition
- Product FeedThe scheduled file or API sync that keeps a Meta catalogue's products, prices and stock current, so WhatsApp product messages show what you can sell.Read definition
- Replenishment ReminderA WhatsApp message timed to reach a customer shortly before a consumable they bought is likely to run out, with a one-tap way to reorder it.Read definition
- RTO (Return to Origin)A parcel the courier could not deliver and ships back to the seller's warehouse, costing two freight legs for no sale; most common on cash-on-delivery orders.Read definition
- Single-Product MessageSPMAn interactive WhatsApp message showing one catalogue item, with image, title and price drawn from the catalogue and a View button that leads to the cart.Read definition
Expert· 2
Edge cases, internals and the details that matter at scale.
- Order Details MessageThe WhatsApp Payments API (India) message that shows an itemised bill in chat with a Review and pay button, settled by UPI or a linked gateway.Read definition
- Product Retailer IDThe ID a business gives each catalogue item (its content ID, usually the SKU), used by WhatsApp product messages and order webhooks to name a product.Read definition
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