WhatsApp Catalog: How to Show and Sell Products Inside WhatsApp
A WhatsApp catalog is a list of your products, with photos, prices and descriptions, that customers can browse inside WhatsApp. On the WhatsApp Business app you build it by hand on your phone. On the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API), the catalog is uploaded to Meta through Commerce Manager or the Commerce API and connected to your WhatsApp account, so you can send single products, multi-product lists and product carousels in the chat, and customers can send you a cart. A catalog shows products. To sell, you still need to confirm the order, take payment and arrange delivery, which AeroChat does in the same chat.
Catalogs on the app vs the API
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business Platform (API) | |
|---|---|---|
| How you build it | Add items by hand on your phone | Upload product data to Meta through Commerce Manager or the Commerce API, then connect the catalog to your WhatsApp account |
| How customers see it | On your business profile and when you share items | In messages you send: catalog, single product, multi-product and carousel messages |
| Updates | By hand | From your product data, so prices and items can follow your store |
| Orders | Customers send a cart, you handle it by hand | Customer carts arrive as webhook events your system can act on |
Product message types on the API
According to Meta’s developer documentation for selling on WhatsApp, a business connected to the Cloud API can send:
- Catalog messages, which show a thumbnail of the whole catalog.
- Single product messages, which show one product with its image, price and description.
- Multi-product messages, which show up to 30 products organized into sections.
- Product carousel messages, which show products as cards the customer scrolls sideways.
How carts and orders work
- With the cart enabled, customers add products and send one order to the business.
- A customer can add up to 99 units of each item, with no limit on the number of different items.
- There is one cart per chat thread on a device. Carts don’t expire and are cleared once sent.
- A sent cart can’t be edited. To change an order, the customer sends a new cart.
- The business receives orders and product questions as webhook notifications. Businesses can’t send a cart to a customer.
- Messages sent through the Cloud API don’t show a shopping cart icon in the chat header.
Every catalog item must follow Meta’s Commerce Policies. Items are reviewed automatically, and items that break the policies are flagged. A rejected item can be appealed in Commerce Manager.
Source: Meta for Developers, “Sell products and services” (WhatsApp Cloud API), checked November 2026.
What a catalog doesn’t do on its own
A catalog is a shop window. It doesn’t answer “does this come in blue?”, it doesn’t check that the item is still in stock in your warehouse, it doesn’t collect payment, and it doesn’t book the courier. When a customer sends a cart, someone still has to confirm the delivery address, work out shipping, send a way to pay and confirm the order. On a busy day, carts wait.
Practical tips for a WhatsApp catalog
- Keep it in step with your store. A catalog that shows sold-out items or old prices causes more questions than it answers. On the API, update the catalog from your product data.
- Use clear photos and names. Name variants plainly so customers can ask for the exact one.
- Send a short list, not everything. A multi-product message with the five items that answer the customer’s question works better than a link to the whole catalog.
- Answer questions about items in the chat. Size, material and compatibility questions should get an answer from your product details.
- Finish the sale in the chat. Confirm the cart, the address and the total, and send a payment link. See payment link.
How AeroChat sells from your catalog
AeroChat works with the products you already have: your synced store catalog (Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix are built in), a Google Sheets store, or a Meta catalog. When a customer asks about a product, AeroChat answers from your product details and checks stock. When they want to order, or send a cart, it confirms the items, address and total, sends a payment link and detects the payment automatically. The customer never has to type “paid”. Then it creates the order and books the delivery. Airwallex is built in for payment links. AeroChat never sees card numbers and never holds your funds. No Airwallex account yet? Open one here. For delivery, POS Malaysia is built in, and other couriers connect through their APIs.
Customer, sends a cart: 2 x Cold brew coffee bags, 1 x Glass carafe (example)
AeroChat: Thanks for your order! 2 x Cold brew coffee bags and 1 x Glass carafe come to US$46. Delivery is US$4, so US$50 in total. Can you share your delivery address?
Customer: 17 Oak Avenue
AeroChat: Thanks. Here is your payment link for US$50.
AeroChat, after payment: Payment received. Order #4471 is confirmed and will ship tomorrow (example). I’ll send your tracking link here.
Behind the reply: the cart arrived as a webhook event. AeroChat checked stock, added delivery from the shipping rates, sent the payment link and created the order once payment was confirmed.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer sends a cart on WhatsApp, check that every item is in stock. If something is out of stock, tell them and suggest the closest alternative. Confirm the items and quantities, ask for the delivery address, add delivery of US$4 (example), and send a payment link for the total. When the payment is confirmed, create the order and tell them when it will ship. If they want to change the cart, ask them to send a new one. If they ask about wholesale or more than 20 units (example), hand the conversation to our team.
Related reading: how to sell on WhatsApp, WhatsApp ordering, WhatsApp product recommendations and conversational commerce.
Questions
Can I use my Shopify products as a WhatsApp catalog?
AeroChat reads your Shopify products directly once your store is connected, so it can recommend and sell them in WhatsApp. To show Meta’s native catalog messages, your products also need to be in a Meta catalog connected to your WhatsApp account.
Can customers pay inside the catalog?
The catalog and cart don’t collect payment by themselves in every market. AeroChat sends a payment link in the chat after the customer sends their cart, and confirms the payment automatically.
How many products can a WhatsApp message show?
A multi-product message shows up to 30 products, according to Meta’s documentation. A single product message shows one.
Are there products I can’t list?
Yes. Meta’s Commerce Policies restrict some products. Check them before you build your catalog. See account restrictions.
Turn your catalog into orders in the chat
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed. Connect WhatsApp and your products, paste the recipe, and send a test cart from your own phone.
On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.