WhatsApp marketing for online stores: what you can send legally and what it brings in sales

Your customers read their WhatsApp messages almost immediately, while a promotional email can sit unread for days. That's why it's tempting to move all your marketing to WhatsApp. It works, but only if you pick the right tool, have your customers' consent and know what each message costs. Below is everything you need to know before sending the first message, with the pricing rules that apply in October 2026. 1. The WhatsApp Business app or the Platform (API) Meta offers two different products for businesses, and picking the wrong one is the most common problem I see. The WhatsApp Business app Free, installed on a phone like regular WhatsApp. You get a business profile, product catalogue, quick replies, greeting and away messages, and labels for chats. Broadcast lists hold at most 256 contacts, and the message only reaches people who have your number saved in their contacts. It doesn't connect to your store: everything is manual. It suits small stores with a few chats a day, where WhatsApp is mainly a support channel. The WhatsApp Business Platform (API) It has no app of its own. You use it through Meta's Cloud API or, more often, through a provider (BSP) that gives you an interface, automations and integrations. Messages you start yourself use templates approved by Meta. It connects to your store, your email platform and your CRM, and several colleagues can reply from the same inbox. You start with a daily limit on business-initiated conversations, which grows as you verify your business and keep message quality high. You pay per message, by category and recipient country. 2. Message categories and what they cost Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per delivered message, not per conversation. The price depends on the template category and the recipient's country code. The categories: Marketing: offers, launches, discounts, abandoned cart, back in stock. It's the most expensive category. Utility: order confirmation, shipping, delivery, order changes. Cheaper than…