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Guide · Selling · For the owner whose customers order in WhatsApp

How a customer orders from your WhatsApp catalog: the shopping button, lists of up to 30 items, the cart, and the Report button

You built a catalog in WhatsApp. But what does your customer actually see, and what are they told to do? WhatsApp's Help Center has a set of articles written for the customer. Here is what they say, step by step, from finding your products to placing an order, and what a customer is told to do when a business does not reply.

Published 14 October 2026

How a customer finds you and your products

WhatsApp's article About shopping on WhatsApp names two ways a customer connects with a business. The first is your business profile, which they open by tapping your business name at the top of the chat. It can show your address, category, description, social media accounts, email and website, and a customer can pass your profile on to friends and family with Share. The second is an official WhatsApp QR code, which they scan with the WhatsApp camera.

The same article says every catalog item has a unique title, and that price, description, website link and product code are optional. It adds that adding prices to a catalog is only available in certain countries, and that some of these shopping features may not be available to everyone yet.

How you add items, and Meta's review of each one, is in our guide to the catalog and cart in the WhatsApp Business app.

The shopping button

WhatsApp's article About using the shopping button says the button gives customers your catalog directly from their chat screen, so they can explore your products and services while using WhatsApp. They can still reach the catalog from your business profile too.

Who gets it
WhatsApp says the feature is currently only available to businesses that use the WhatsApp Business app.
What you need
The business must have a catalog. No catalog, no button.

Our reading

This Help Center article is about the WhatsApp Business app. If your number runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform, it does not apply. How customers see your catalog there, including a catalog setting that is off by default, is in our guide to WhatsApp catalogs on the Platform.

Lists of up to 30 items, sent in the chat

WhatsApp's article How to shop while chatting with businesses says that, while chatting with a customer, a business can share a list of up to 30 items from its catalog that relate to what the customer asked for. The point, WhatsApp says, is to make it easier for the customer to find what they want.

From the customer's side, the article describes it like this: they open the chat with the business and either open the whole catalog or send a message saying what they are looking for. If the business uses lists, it may reply with a list of possible matches. The customer taps the list and adds items from it to their cart.

Our reading

A customer who writes "do you have this in black?" is better served by a short list of the matching items than by your whole catalog. Thirty items is the most one list can hold, so pick the closest matches.

Viewing and sharing your catalog

Viewing it
WhatsApp's article How to view a catalog tells the customer to open the chat with the business, tap the business name to see the business profile, then tap See all next to Products. If the business has an active catalog, it can also be opened straight from the chat.
Sharing the whole catalog
The same article says a customer can share your entire catalog with Send link via WhatsApp, which sends it over WhatsApp, or Copy link, which copies its link.
Sharing one product
WhatsApp's article How to share products or services from a catalog says a single product or service can be shared into individual chats or group chats. It gives a second route that starts from Tools, then Catalogue, then the item.

Our reading

Every customer who forwards your catalog link to a family group is doing your marketing for you, so it is worth keeping titles and photos clear enough to make sense to someone who never chatted with you.

The cart and Place order

WhatsApp's article How to place an order using cart says that in your catalog a customer has two buttons: Message business, to start a conversation, and Add to cart, to begin the order process. The steps it gives the customer:

Add
Open the catalog from the chat or the business profile, browse, and add an item to the cart, or open an item's detail page and tap Add to cart.
Adjust
Change the quantity of each item in the cart.
Edit
Tap View cart to see what is in it, and Add more to go back to the catalog.
Send
Tap Place order. WhatsApp's chatting-with-businesses article words the last step as View cart, then Send to business.
Check
Once sent, the customer can tap View sent cart in the chat to see the order details.

The article adds two tips for the customer. To ask about one product, tap Message business. To ask about several items, add them all to the cart and send the question in a single message. If the cart cannot be sent, WhatsApp tells the customer to contact the business for help.

An order is not final until you confirm it

The same article tells the customer plainly that an order isn't final until confirmed by the seller. The chatting-with-businesses article says that when the business receives the order, it will reach out to discuss payment options, and About shopping on WhatsApp describes the customer sending the cart to the chat and discussing payment options there.

Our reading

A cart arriving in your chat is a request, not a sale. WhatsApp has told your customer the order isn't final until you confirm it, and to agree payment with you in the chat. So the next move is yours: confirm what is in stock, the total and how they will pay. A cart left without a reply is a customer left waiting on a promise WhatsApp told them you would keep.

When a customer reports a product or your business

WhatsApp's article How to report a catalog or business opens with this line: businesses should respond to customers promptly. It then tells the customer that if their device is connected and the business still has not replied, or if they believe the business is breaking the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, they can report it.

Report product
From the catalog in the chat, the customer opens a product or service, chooses Report product, picks an option and submits it. This reports one item, not the whole business.
Report the business
From the chat, the customer chooses Report. There is a Block check box: ticked, the customer reports and blocks the business in one step, after choosing a reason. Left clear, it is a report only.
Block business
WhatsApp's article How to block or unblock a business says a customer can also block a business from its name in the chat with Block business, after selecting a reason. They can unblock it later from Privacy, then Blocked contacts.

Our reading

WhatsApp itself names not replying as a reason to report a business. A report goes to WhatsApp, not to you. What reports can lead to is covered in our guides to the WhatsApp Business app terms and, for numbers on the WhatsApp Business Platform, to your number's quality rating and to WhatsApp policy violations.

When you block a customer

The blocking article also tells customers what happens when a business blocks their number. They can't send messages to the business or see when it is online, and the business can't send messages to them. They can't unblock themselves: only the business can remove the block, at any time, and WhatsApp suggests they contact the business another way if they think it was a mistake. Being blocked by one business does not affect their account or their ability to message anyone else.

More on blocking from the business side is in our guide to blocking a customer on a WhatsApp business number.

What this means for your shop

BitByteCore is a verified Meta Tech Provider (since 9 September 2026). This guide repeats WhatsApp's own Help Center articles, and is not legal advice.

Our reading

WhatsApp makes ordering easy for the customer: a button, a list, a cart and Place order. It then tells them the order waits on you, and that a business that never answers can be reported. The catalog brings the order in; a quick confirmation in the chat is what turns it into a sale.

Questions

Why don't my customers see a shopping button in our chat?

WhatsApp's Help Center says the shopping button is currently only available to businesses that use the WhatsApp Business app, and only when the business has a catalog. If your number is on the WhatsApp Business Platform, that article does not cover it; our guide to WhatsApp catalogs on the Platform explains the catalog setting there, which is off by default. Customers can also reach a catalog from the business profile, by tapping the business name and then See all next to Products.

How many products can I send a customer in one list?

Up to 30 items from your catalog, according to WhatsApp's article How to shop while chatting with businesses. WhatsApp describes these lists as items that relate to the customer's specific queries and requests.

Is an order final when the customer taps Place order?

No. WhatsApp's Help Center tells the customer that an order isn't final until confirmed by the seller, and that the business will reach out to discuss payment options once it receives the order.

Can a customer see the order they sent?

Yes. WhatsApp's article says that once the cart is sent, the customer can tap View sent cart in the chat to see the order details.

Can a customer report me for not replying?

WhatsApp's article How to report a catalog or business says businesses should respond to customers promptly, and that a customer can report a business that still hasn't responded once their own connection is working, or one they believe is breaking the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy. They can report a single product or the whole business, and block it in the same step.

Who is BitByteCore?

BitByteCore is a verified Meta Tech Provider (since 9 September 2026). This guide repeats WhatsApp's own Help Center articles, and is not legal advice.

Sources

This guide describes WhatsApp's pages as we read them, and is not legal advice. More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

Want every customer chat in one place your team controls?

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