WhatsApp is officially launching a new business directory feature across Brazil, the UK, Indonesia, Mexico, and Colombia. Meta says users will either be able to browse by business category (like travel or banking) or else search directly to find companies that are contactable on the service. Those signed up for WhatsApp’s Business Platform across all five countries will appear in the directory, while in Brazil, the directory will also be open to small businesses. The launch of the feature comes as WhatsApp is increasingly pitching itself as a service for people to use to message businesses in addition to friends and family. Meta said that over 175 million people around the world used WhatsApp to message business accounts every day. The service has also added other features focused on e-commerce, like support for in-app shopping carts. WhatsApp’s business-focused features are notable for being one of the few ways the service is monetised directly via the WhatsApp Business API. It doesn’t show ads in the same way as Meta’s other major services, Instagram and Facebook. (Though businesses do not have to pay to be included in the new directory search feature.)

YOUTUBE IS BRINGING SHOPPING FEATURES TO SHORTS AS IT CHASES TIKTOK

New shopping features are coming to YouTube Shorts, including affiliate marketing and the ability to purchase items through Shorts, as first reported by the Financial Times. The long-form video giant is testing shopping features with US-based creators and audiences in the US, Brazil, Canada, and Australia, allowing influencers to tag their own products in Shorts that viewers can then purchase, according to the report. An affiliate marketing program, open to select US influencers, adds yet another way for creators to monetise their Shorts, with YouTube, the creator, and the merchant all taking a cut of sales. Shopping is a potentially lucrative area for platforms that run on advertising dollars, and Shorts competitors are eyeing expanding even more into e-commerce. The addition of Shorts shopping features comes just days after TikTok announced similar features. TikTok recently began testing its long-anticipated Shop program, which lets users purchase products directly in the app. TikTok has made clear its plan to integrate shopping into its app: before testing in the US, the feature was available in the UK and parts of Southeast Asia.