Conversational commerce
Conversational commerce is selling through chat surfaces like WhatsApp, Instagram DM, Messenger, and live chat, where a shopper asks questions, sees product options, and places an order inside the conversation. In India it leans heavily on WhatsApp, with payment links, COD confirmation, and order updates handled in the same thread.
Conversational commerce is selling through chat surfaces like WhatsApp, Instagram DM, Messenger, and live chat, where a shopper asks questions, sees product options, and places an order inside the conversation. In India it leans heavily on WhatsApp, with payment links, COD confirmation, and order updates handled in the same thread.
Conversational commerce treats the chat window as a storefront. Instead of sending the shopper to a product page and hoping they convert, the brand answers a question, shares two or three options, and drops a payment link or cart link in the same thread. The decision and the purchase happen in one flow.
In India the default channel is WhatsApp. A shopper messages the brand from an ad, a catalogue, a Click-to-WhatsApp button, or a support handoff. From there the brand uses a mix of human agents, saved replies, catalogues, and bots to qualify the buyer, show stock, confirm COD, share a Razorpay or Shopify link, and follow up on delivery. Instagram DM plays a similar role for fashion, beauty, and jewellery brands where shoppers ask about fit or shade.
It is not only about closing the first sale. Re-engagement is a big part of it: abandoned cart nudges, restock alerts, order tracking, review requests, and reorder prompts all live inside the same chat history. That continuity is why operators treat chat as a channel with its own revenue line, not as support overflow.
The trade-off is operational. Conversations need staffing or automation, templates need approval, and opt-in rules apply on WhatsApp. Brands that win on chat usually pair it with a clear catalogue, fast replies, and a clean handoff to checkout, so the conversation never has to explain a price the shopper could not already see.
On beyondRegular
beyondRegular sits on the product discovery side of this flow. A shopper lands on the site from a WhatsApp link, sees a shoppable video on the product page or homepage, taps a hotspot, and adds the item to the store cart. Checkout still runs through Razorpay, Cashfree, or Shopify Payments, so the chat agent does not have to send a separate payment link unless they want to. For Indian D2C brands this means the same campaign can drive WhatsApp replies and on-site purchases without splitting the catalogue across two systems.
Common questions
Is conversational commerce the same as a WhatsApp chatbot?
No. A WhatsApp chatbot is one tool inside conversational commerce. The broader practice covers human agents, shared inboxes, Instagram DM, live chat on the website, and broadcast follow-ups. A bot handles repetitive questions like sizes, COD availability, or order status. Humans usually close higher value carts and handle edge cases. Most Indian D2C brands run a hybrid setup where bots qualify and route, and agents take over when the shopper is close to buying.
Does beyondRegular replace a WhatsApp commerce tool?
No, the two sit alongside each other. WhatsApp tools own the chat thread, opt-ins, templates, and broadcasts. beyondRegular owns the shoppable video surface on the store, which is where many of those WhatsApp clicks land. A common setup is to send a WhatsApp campaign that points to a collection page, let the shoppable video do product discovery on that page, and use the store's own gateway for checkout.
Related resources
WhatsApp commerce
WhatsApp commerce is the practice of selling, supporting, and re-engaging shoppers through WhatsApp. Indian D2C brands use the WhatsApp Business app or the WhatsApp Business API to share catalogues, answer queries, send order updates, recover abandoned carts, and close sales using payment links, UPI, or WhatsApp Pay.
Social commerce
Social commerce is buying and selling products directly inside social platforms and social-style content, rather than using social media only to drive traffic elsewhere. It covers in-app shops, shoppable posts, creator and influencer selling, and shoppable video, where product discovery and the buying step happen in the same flow.