Most Brazilians with smartphones have WhatsApp installed, and a growing percentage of these conversations end in purchases. This is the trend described by chat commerce : selling within the conversation itself, in the same app where the customer already communicates with family, friends, and brand customer service . More than 80% of Brazilians already use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses , according to OpinionBox , and online retail was the first sector to transform this habit into revenue.
In this article you will read:
Chat Commerce: What You Need to Know Now
- Chat commerce is selling done through messaging channels. (WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, Messenger) with the conversation driving the purchase decision;
- In Brazil, the WhatsApp This movement focuses on: Over 80% of people already use it to communicate with businesses.According to OpinionBox;
- The benefit lies not in starting more conversations, but in deepening them: the average number of messages per conversation has increased from... 14,5 to almost 20 between 2020 and 2025according to the Chat Commerce Report 2026;
- In the fashion and footwear retail sector, The average ticket price ranges from R$600 to R$1.000 per conversation, compared to an overall average of R$260., the same report points out;
- A cart recovery It's the fastest return front: The average ROAS reached 176x when AI initiated the contact;
- Automation does not replace the team: It handles the 25% of messages that arrive outside of business hours, freeing up salespeople for complex cases.
What is chat commerce and why does WhatsApp dominate Brazil?
Chat commerce, or conversational commerce, is a model in which the entire customer journey (discovery, questions, negotiation, payment, and after-sales service) takes place within a conversation. Instead of navigating pages and deciding alone, the customer asks questions, receives real-time answers, clarifies objections, and confirms conditions before making a purchase. Conversion no longer depends solely on the page but on the quality of the dialogue.
In Brazil, this conversation almost always happens on WhatsApp . The app is present in the daily lives of practically all consumers, and the OpinionBox data ( more than 80% already communicate with companies through it) explains why retailers no longer treat the channel as secondary. The barrier to entry is low: the customer is already familiar with the tool and responds much faster than via email.
It's important to distinguish between chat commerce and traditional e-commerce: they are not competitors. The website captures intent and resolves low-friction purchases. WhatsApp converts cases that the website alone cannot close (products with size and color variations, categories with a lot of pre-purchase questions, abandoned shopping carts) and maintains the relationship after the sale.
What the data reveals about sales via WhatsApp.
The growth of chat commerce is more about depth than volume of contacts. According to the Chat Commerce Report 2026 , the number of conversations grew 5,4 times between 2020 and 2025 , but the most revealing data is another: the average number of messages per conversation jumped from 14,5 to almost 20 in the same period. Consumers are not only initiating more contacts, they are spending more time in each one , comparing options, adjusting choices, and returning to the same chat.
This depth has financial weight. In the fashion and footwear retail sector , the largest cluster in the report, the average ticket price ranged from R$600 to R$1.000 per conversation, compared to the platform's overall average of R$260. Each conversation in this segment carries 2 to 4 times more value. Revenue doesn't come from more conversations, but from better-conducted conversations.
How retailers use WhatsApp in the buyer's journey.
WhatsApp has moved beyond being an isolated point of contact and now operates across all stages of the customer journey. Four key areas are yielding the best results.
1. Marketing campaigns: In 2025, 1 in 3 people who responded to a WhatsApp campaign will have completed a purchase (an 11% higher rate than the previous year). The best-performing campaigns follow a simple pattern: messages of up to 300 characters, a quick reply button, and personalization with behavioral data, such as previous orders or abandoned products . The result comes from the accuracy of the context, not the whims of the text.
2- Abandoned cart: the abandonment rate in Brazilian e-commerce exceeds 69%, and generic emails rarely recover these sales. On WhatsApp, contact happens where the customer already is. AI-driven campaigns generated 25% more conversions than manual ones, and the average ROAS reached 176x — R$176 recovered for every R$1 invested.
3- Customer service outside of business hours: one in four contacts arrives outside of business hours, precisely when a large portion of purchasing decisions are made, at night and on weekends. Operations that rely solely on human salespeople lose this window every week.
4- After-sales service: delivery, exchanges, and returns weigh heavily on operations and, when poorly managed, can reduce repeat purchases. Only 28% of Brazilians say they are satisfied with companies' after-sales service, according to IBRC/IPS Consumo, and 49% of Latin Americans would abandon a brand they love after a single bad experience, according to PwC. Handling this effectively on WhatsApp, with the history preserved, creates the context for the next sale within the same chat.
AI AND TEAM: CAPABILITY, NOT REPLACEMENT
Automation in conversational retail expands what the team can deliver. Between 2023 and 2025, the volume of conversations grew by 71% while teams grew by 18%, operations absorbed almost four times more demand than the increase in personnel, without loss of quality as measured by customer satisfaction, according to the report. In inbound customer service, AI already achieves the same conversion rate as human service.
The arrangement works because each part does different things: automation handles repetitive queries, order status, and overnight coverage, freeing up salespeople for negotiations that require real decisions.
Metrics to Track in ChatCommerce
Measuring a channel by the number of messages tells you little. The indicators that show true health are the conversion rate in the conversation , the first response time , the average order value of orders closed on WhatsApp, and the cart recovery rate . This set of factors separates revenue from simple conversation volume.
WHERE CHAT COMMERCE MEETS MARKETING
The return on investment increases when WhatsApp doesn't operate in isolation. Connected to the contact database and marketing automation, the channel becomes fueled by behavioral data: who abandoned their shopping cart, who last purchased within the last 90 days, who showed interest in a particular category. The conversation ceases to be reactive and becomes part of a relationship strategy, with the right message reaching the right person at the right time. It is at this point that the integration between WhatsApp and marketing platforms separates those who use the channel for customer service from those who use it for predictable sales.
Chat commerce is already part of the Brazilian consumer's shopping routine and is expected to have an increasingly significant impact on online sales. To learn more, check out other content on the e-Plus blog . And if your goal is to transform WhatsApp into a structured sales channel integrated into your strategy, e-Plus, as an RD Station partner, can discuss RD Station Conversations with you and design the most suitable path for your operation.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about Chat Commerce
What is chat commerce?
Chat commerce is sales conducted within messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, and Messenger. The conversation guides the entire buying journey (product presentation, questions, closing the sale, and after-sales service) without the customer needing to leave the channel they already use daily.
Why is WhatsApp the main chat commerce channel in Brazil?
WhatsApp leads because it's part of almost every consumer's daily routine: more than 80% of Brazilians already use it to communicate with businesses, according to OpinionBox. This eliminates adoption barriers; the customer is familiar with the tool, keeps the channel open, and responds much faster than with email.
Does chat commerce replace traditional e-commerce?
No. They are complementary layers. The website captures intent and resolves low-friction purchases; WhatsApp handles cases that require context, such as product variations and pre-purchase questions, and also recovers abandoned carts and supports post-sales service. The best-performing brands use both in an integrated way.
What metrics should you track in chat commerce?
The main metrics are conversion rate in conversations, first response time, average order value of completed orders on the channel, and cart recovery rate. This set of data shows whether WhatsApp is generating real revenue, and not just increasing the number of messages exchanged.
