Messaging Commerce

Move repeat customers onto WhatsApp: catalogue, broadcasts, orders and support in the app they already live in.

The original

Alyasra Fashion, the Kuwait-based retailer for more than 60 premium brands including DKNY, Max Mara and ECCO, moved its outbound marketing across its brands from SMS to WhatsApp. It matched phone numbers collected at the till to its send lists, so in-store purchases counted, and ran a 30-product WhatsApp catalogue with checkout connected to Shopify.

Infobip's case study reports a 30 times tracked return on WhatsApp marketing against 13 times for SMS, measured as revenue from customers who bought online or in store within seven days of a message (Infobip case study, undated).

30x

tracked return on WhatsApp marketing, Alyasra

13x

tracked return on SMS, same retailer

85%

of UAE residents want businesses on WhatsApp

Best for

Retail, e-commerce, hospitality, clinics and services in markets where WhatsApp is the default messenger: the Gulf, most of Europe, India, Latin America and Africa.

Why it works

Messages get read and answered. In a 2024 YouGov poll of 1,000 UAE residents for Zbooni, 85% said they want all businesses to offer WhatsApp for customer support (Communicate, February 2024). Businesses are paying for it at scale: Meta said its other revenue line grew 54% in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by WhatsApp paid messaging and Meta Verified subscriptions (Meta, January 2026).

How it runs

Set up WhatsApp Business, the app for small volumes and the Business Platform through a provider at scale, with a catalogue.
Collect opt-ins at every touchpoint: checkout, receipts, QR codes in store, the website. The opt-in must name your business.
Send broadcasts for restocks, drops and appointment slots, no more than weekly.
Match phone numbers from the till so in-store sales count.
Automate the first reply and order status, and keep a human for everything else.
Measure replies, orders and repeat rate per broadcast.

Proof

Vendor. Alyasra Fashion's results from an Infobip case study, and the YouGov poll commissioned by Zbooni. Verified. Meta's fourth-quarter 2025 results.

Cost to test, and when to stop

Cost to test. WhatsApp charges per marketing message, plus a provider's fee. A first month for a small list usually costs a few hundred dollars.

Kill it if after three broadcasts the tracked revenue does not beat your email or SMS.

Watch-outs

Opt-in is mandatory, marketing messages are paid per message, and WhatsApp limits how many marketing messages each person receives from businesses. Meta raised marketing rates in Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia on 1 October 2026, so check current prices. Meta has paused marketing messages to US numbers since April 2025. Tracked returns include sales that would have happened anyway. Over-messaging gets you blocked and reported.

Pairs with

Ad to WhatsApp, The Review Engine, The Nine-Word Email

Sources

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