E-commerce and D2C · Updated 25 September 2026

WhatsApp for e-commerce and D2C brands

Your customers already read WhatsApp. Confirm cash-on-delivery orders before they ship, answer product questions in seconds and bring buyers back with offers that get replies.

What brands use it for

Job	Template category	What the agent does with the reply
Confirm a cash-on-delivery order	Utility	Records confirm or cancel; answers "when will it arrive?"
Delivery updates	Utility	Answers questions about the order in the 24-hour window
Abandoned cart	Marketing	Answers the question that stopped the purchase: size, fit, returns
Launches and sale offers	Marketing	Answers product questions and sends people to buy
Collect a review	Utility or marketing	Captures the rating and the comment

Utility templates cost less than marketing ones in India (₹0.115 against ₹0.8631 per message from Meta today), so order updates are cheap to send.

Cutting RTO on cash-on-delivery

Every refused COD parcel costs two-way shipping. A utility template right after the order ("Confirm your order of ₹1,299, arriving Thursday?") with Confirm and Cancel buttons lets you hold the parcels nobody confirms. The agent records each answer against the order and replies to anything else the buyer asks.

Connecting your store

Your store's backend starts a chat with one API call when an order is placed:

POST /api/v1/chats with the agent, the customer's number, the template and its values (order number, amount, date). The agent handles every reply, and GET /api/v1/chats/{id} returns what it captured. See the API docs.

There is no ready-made Shopify app today, so a developer makes this call from your store or your order system.

What it costs

Meta's template rate plus 10% when you only send, or Meta's rate plus ₹0.30 per conversation when the agent answers. No subscription, no per-seat fee. See pricing.

Questions

How do D2C brands use WhatsApp Business API?

For order confirmations, cash-on-delivery verification, shipping updates, abandoned-cart reminders, sale announcements and support. Utility templates cover order updates; marketing templates cover offers and reminders.

Does WhatsApp COD confirmation reduce RTO?

It lets you stop shipping orders nobody confirms, and those are the parcels most likely to be refused. Brands send a utility template with Confirm and Cancel buttons right after the order and hold the ones that don't confirm.

Can the AI agent answer product questions?

Yes, from the product facts you give it: sizes, materials, delivery times, return policy. It does not invent anything it wasn't told, and hands over to your team for anything you list, such as refunds or complaints.

Is there a Shopify integration?

Not as an app today. Your store or order system starts chats through Altrnative's API with one call per order.

Try it on your own number

Describe your agent in plain words, test it in a chat, and put it on your WhatsApp. $5 free to start, no subscription.

Start free Book a demo