[ C A S E S T U D Y ]
Designing New Order and Payment Features in WhatsApp for Malaysian SMEs
Client
Concept Project
Industry
Technology · E-Commerce
Service
UX Research & Strategy · UI/UX Design · App Design
01 / Challenge
The Challenge for SMEs Using WhatsApp
WhatsApp Business already provides a strong foundation for SMEs, but after a customer sends the cart, the journey becomes manual again.
Take Amir (our SME persona), a home baker in Kuala Lumpur who runs his small business entirely through WhatsApp. Customers love browsing his cake catalog and often send questions, orders, and payment proofs directly in chat. But that’s where the friction begins.
Amir has to manually confirm every order, cross-check bank transfers, and update customers on delivery all one by one in chat. This not only makes the process overwhelming and error-prone, but it also eats into his baking time. Instead of focusing on creating cakes, Amir feels stuck in endless admin work.
Long waiting times leave customers uncertain and impatient, while Amir feels exhausted and frustrated. The result is missed orders, dissatisfied buyers, and lost sales. What should be a simple “browse → order → pay” experience turns into a stressful, time-consuming conversation loop.
02 / Insights
Key Insights from UX Research
03 / Design Strategy
Our UX Design Solution
Instead of stopping at catalog browsing, we reimagined WhatsApp Business as a seamless end-to-end journey for both buyers and sellers:
Auto-confirmation with In-app Payment
Every order is instantly confirmed once payment succeeds, removing the uncertainty of manual checks and proof-of-payment screenshots.Automated Order Tracking
Buyers receive real-time updates from confirmation to delivery right inside WhatsApp chat, building trust and reducing anxious follow-ups.Seller Order Management
Sellers manage their workflow in a structured view (Upcoming, Ongoing, Completed), making it easier to track payments, delivery, and customer notes without juggling multiple chats.
This isn’t about replacing WhatsApp’s catalog or FAQ. It’s about extending the flow beyond the cart into payment > confirmation > fulfillment, so SMEs can focus on what they do best, while customers enjoy a frictionless buying experience.
04 / Impact
Why This Matters for SMEs
For sellers like Amir, order chaos turns into clarity. Instead of cross-checking payments across 30–40 daily WhatsApp inquiries (Rakuten Insight, 2023), every order is now auto-confirmed, paid, and organized. Automation cuts admin time by up to 50–60%, letting him focus on baking, not chats.
For buyers, the journey is frictionless. No more waiting or sending bank-in slips. The moment payment succeeds, the order is confirmed, with delivery updates arriving in real time. With 83% of Malaysians using WhatsApp daily (We Are Social, 2024), embedding payments and tracking inside chat builds instant trust.
At scale, this tackles the top two purchase drivers in Malaysia — trust and transaction certainty (MCMC, 2024). The result: fewer abandoned orders, higher conversions, and SMEs that operate with the polish of big e-commerce, without the complexity.
In short: Amir gains time, customers gain confidence, and SMEs gain the trust to grow.
05 / Next Steps
Future Enhancements
While the immediate solution focuses on seamless order + payment integration, the next opportunity lies in delivery integration. By connecting with local couriers like GrabExpress or Lalamove, customers could track their orders in real time within WhatsApp, without waiting for riders to call or message manually.
This feature isn’t in WhatsApp Business today, but it would close the last gap in the buyer journey. For SMEs, it means fewer follow-ups, smoother handovers, and a toolkit that grows with their business.
