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This term

Multi-Product Message(MPM)

An 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.

Also called: Product list message · product_list message · Multi-product template

Often confused with

Single-Product Message

An 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 the Single-Product Message entry

Read a multi-product message, line by line

5 / 5
{
"messaging_product": "whatsapp",
"recipient_type": "individual",
"to": "919812345678",
"type": "interactive",
"interactive": {
"type": "product_list",
"header": { "type": "text", "text": "Kurtas in size M" },
"body": { "text": "Here are the size M kurtas in stock. Add any to your cart." },
"footer": { "text": "Prices include GST" },
"action": {
"catalog_id": "194836987003835",
"sections": [
{
"title": "Cotton",
"product_items": [
{ "product_retailer_id": "KRT-COT-BLU-M" },
{ "product_retailer_id": "KRT-COT-MUS-M" }
]
},
{
"title": "Silk blend",
"product_items": [
{ "product_retailer_id": "KRT-SLK-MRN-M" }
]
}
]
}
}
}

Step 5 of 5 · lines 16–19

product_items point at product_retailer_id values from your feed — up to 30 across all sections. Unmatched IDs are dropped.

Jump to
Two real-shaped request bodies: the interactive product_list for an open chat, and the multi-product template that can start one. Step through the lines that carry the limits and the product IDs.

Inside the window, step 5 of 5, lines 16–19: product_items point at product_retailer_id values from your feed — up to 30 across all sections. Unmatched IDs are dropped.

What is a multi-product message?

A multi-product message (MPM) is an interactive WhatsApp message that presents a hand-picked set of items from the business's catalogue. The customer sees a header, a body and a View items button; tapping it opens a list of up to 30 products arranged in up to 10 sections — Cotton, Silk blend, Gift boxes — each shown with its catalogue image, name and price and ready to add to the in-chat cart.

On the Cloud API it is an interactive message whose interactive.type is "product_list". The header is required and must be text, the body is required and the footer is optional. action carries the catalog_id and a sections array: each section has a title (up to 24 characters, required when there is more than one section) and product_items, each naming a product retailer ID (product_retailer_id) from the catalogue. If none of the IDs match the catalogue the send fails; if only some match, the message goes out without the unmatched items and you get an error asking you to update the catalogue.

The interactive version is a reply inside an existing chat — it cannot be sent as a cold notification, so it belongs in the 24-hour customer service window. To start a conversation with a product selection, businesses use an approved multi-product template instead: a marketing template whose MPM button ("View items") is filled with sections at send time. A single-product message shows one item in depth and a catalog message opens the whole catalogue; the multi-product message sits between them as a curated shelf.

Key takeaways

  • A multi-product message (MPM) is an interactive product_list message showing up to 30 catalogue items in up to 10 titled sections.
  • The header must be text, section titles are capped at 24 characters, and each item is named by its product_retailer_id.
  • The interactive version needs an open 24-hour window; to start a chat, send an approved multi-product template instead.
  • Customers add items to the in-chat cart and send it back, and it reaches you as an order webhook.
  • Multi-product templates are marketing templates, charged at ₹0.94 per delivered message in India.

A multi-product message in code

curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/messages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
    "to": "919812345678",
    "type": "interactive",
    "interactive": {
      "type": "product_list",
      "header": { "type": "text", "text": "Kurtas in size M" },
      "body": { "text": "Here are the size M kurtas in stock." },
      "action": {
        "catalog_id": "{CATALOG_ID}",
        "sections": [
          { "title": "Cotton", "product_items": [
            { "product_retailer_id": "KRT-COT-BLU-M" },
            { "product_retailer_id": "KRT-COT-MUS-M" } ] },
          { "title": "Silk blend", "product_items": [
            { "product_retailer_id": "KRT-SLK-MRN-M" } ] }
        ]
      }
    }
  }'
# → {"messaging_product":"whatsapp","contacts":[...],"messages":[{"id":"wamid.HBgM..."}]}

How does a multi-product message work?

  1. Step 1

    Have a connected catalogue

    Products must exist in the WhatsApp Catalog — a Commerce Manager catalogue linked to the WhatsApp Business Account — each with a stable retailer ID that your systems also know.

  2. Step 2

    Pick and group the products

    Choose up to 30 items and arrange them in up to 10 sections whose short titles help scanning — by price band, fabric, category or occasion.

  3. Step 3

    Send the product_list message

    POST to /{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/messages with type: "interactive", a text header, a body, and action.catalog_id plus sections[].product_items[].product_retailer_id.

  4. Step 4

    Use a template outside the window

    If the customer has not messaged in the last 24 hours, send an approved multi-product template; its MPM button opens the same kind of sectioned list, with a thumbnail product of your choice.

  5. Step 5

    Handle the cart that comes back

    Customers add items and send the cart, which arrives as an order webhook. Validate prices and stock, then move to payment.

A multi-product message: key facts and limits

Interactive type
product_list
Products
Up to 30 across all sections
Sections
Up to 10; titles up to 24 characters
Header
Required, text only, up to 60 characters
Body / footer
Body up to 1,024 characters; footer up to 60
Outside the window
Multi-product template (marketing category)
Unmatched IDs
Dropped; the send fails if none match

Common mix-ups

Common mistakes with a multi-product message

  • Trying to open a conversation with it

    The interactive product_list only works in an open chat. For a campaign, create a multi-product template — it is a marketing template, charged at ₹0.94 per delivered message in India.

  • Referencing IDs that are not in the catalogue

    Unmatched product_retailer_id values are dropped from the message the customer sees, with only an error asking for a catalogue update to tell you, and the send fails if none match. Validate IDs against the catalogue or your feed before sending.

  • Long or meaningless section titles

    Titles over 24 characters are rejected, and "Section 1" helps nobody. Use short labels a customer can scan in a second.

  • Showing products you cannot ship

    Out-of-stock or policy-rejected items make the shelf look broken. Build sections from live stock at send time, not from a list saved last month.

  • Using a list where one product would do

    When a customer asks about one specific item, a single-product message with its details answers the question; a list of 30 makes them search for it.

Example: A Jaipur kurta label's size-led shelf

A customer asks a Jaipur kurta label on WhatsApp what it has in size M. Instead of five photos and prices in separate messages, the agent's tool sends one multi-product message with three sections — Cotton, Silk blend and Festive — of four in-stock items each, all filtered to size M. The customer adds two kurtas and a dupatta and sends the cart; the order webhook reaches the backend with three lines, and the agent replies with the total and a pay button. Before Navratri the same shelf goes to past buyers as an approved multi-product template.

Why the difference matters

Why does a multi-product message matter?

A curated shelf converts better than a full catalogue or a string of photos and prices. The marketer or agent decides which products this customer sees — the sizes they asked about, the festive range, the items they looked at last week — and the customer can add several to one cart without leaving the chat. For developers it is a single API call built from IDs the catalogue already holds, so images, names and prices stay in sync with the feed instead of being retyped into messages.

MPM FAQs

What is the difference between a multi-product and a single-product message?+
A single-product message (type product) shows one item with its details; a multi-product message (type product_list) shows up to 30 items in sections. Both draw from the same catalogue and feed the same in-chat cart.
Can I send a multi-product message to someone who has not messaged me?+
Not the interactive version. Use an approved multi-product template, which has a View items button and is created in the marketing category.
Do multi-product messages work on WhatsApp Web and desktop?+
On WhatsApp Web, yes: Meta lists the web client as supported, alongside the Android and iOS apps. Meta does not list the desktop apps separately, so test there before relying on them, and keep a website link as a fallback for customers on very old app versions or a laptop.
How is a multi-product message charged?+
Inside the customer service window it is a service message, charged in India at ₹0.145 since 1 October 2026. A multi-product template is a marketing template, charged at ₹0.94 per delivered message.

Rules of thumb

Best practices for a multi-product message

  • Keep sections to three to six items; 30 is a ceiling, not a target.
  • Build the selection from what this customer asked about or browsed, not one shelf for everyone.
  • Say in the body that items can be added to the cart and sent in one go — many customers do not know.
  • Track which sections produce carts and reorder the shelf accordingly.

See InfiQ pricing

* Per-message rates for India, ex-GST: marketing, utility and authentication effective 1 July 2026; service messages ₹0.145 since 1 October 2026 (they were ₹0 until 30 September 2026). Volume commitments earn discounts — final rate is confirmed on your account; applicable GST extra. Rates for other countries differ (see the international rate table on /pricing).

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