What is a WhatsApp store?
A WhatsApp store, or WhatsApp shop, is a real online shop that opens inside WhatsApp. A buyer taps your link, browses your products, adds to cart, pays, and gets shipping updates, all without leaving the app or installing anything. It is the simplest way to run WhatsApp commerce in India, because there is no new app to teach your buyer and nothing new for you to learn beyond the chat you already send every day.
Your buyers already live on WhatsApp. A WhatsApp store puts your full catalog, cart, payment and shipping inside the chat they already use, with a salesperson that answers at 1 a.m. so an order never waits for morning.
WhatsApp store vs WhatsApp catalog
They are not the same thing. A WhatsApp catalog only lists your products; the buyer still has to ask you the price, send you their address, and pay you by hand. A WhatsApp store takes the order, the payment and the delivery address, and books the courier, so the buyer checks out inside the chat and you are not typing the same answers all day. See the full breakdown in WhatsApp catalog vs store.
How to set up your WhatsApp store
Four steps, and you are selling:
- Add your products. Type them in, bulk-import a CSV, or import your existing Shopify catalog in one step, with photos, prices and variants.
- Connect payment and shipping. PayU takes online payments and Shiprocket books the courier and tracks the parcel. Cash on delivery works too.
- Share your link. Put your store link in your Instagram bio, your status and your ads. Every tap opens your shop inside WhatsApp.
- Let Aria sell. Aria answers product questions, suggests items and closes the order while you sleep, a salesperson on every chat.
A website has no salesperson. Your WhatsApp store does.
A normal website is a shelf. The buyer stands alone, has a question at midnight, finds no one, and leaves, and the interest is gone by morning. A shop is different: a salesperson answers, shows another size, and rings up the sale. Your WhatsApp store works the second way. When a buyer asks “is this in blue?” at 1 a.m., Aria replies, shows the blue one, and takes the order the moment the buyer is ready, not the next morning. That is why selling on WhatsApp beats only linking to a site: the conversation and the checkout are the same place. Read why orders get lost in DMs.
What does a WhatsApp store cost?
Behaf is free to start, with no monthly fee. Sellers pay a flat commission only on orders that successfully ship, nothing for browsing, chatting, or unsold stock. See the full pricing on the pricing page, or read pay only when you sell.
WhatsApp store FAQ
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API to open a store?
No. You can open a Behaf WhatsApp store without building on the API yourself. If you want API messaging later, see our WhatsApp Business API India guide.
Can buyers pay inside WhatsApp?
Yes. Online payment runs through PayU, and cash on delivery is supported. The buyer pays from the same chat where they ordered.
Can I move my Shopify products to a WhatsApp store?
Yes. Import your existing Shopify catalog in one step, or bulk-import a CSV. See Behaf as a Shopify alternative for India.