Citation needed, IMO. I hardly speak for most users, but if I had to guess, it's far more that businesses want to speak to users the same way that users talk to their friends and family, rather than the other way around.
Not that this doesn't sound pretty neat, but I'm super curious where the demand from users to connect with businesses via WhatsApp is.
<insert "I think the world is like the US" meme here>
Almost everywhere in the world.
In the German elections, you can message local candidates directly via WhatsApp. In Brazil, you book your doctor, dentist, plumber, restaurant, get a pizza delivered, etc. over WhatsApp. In Spain you get customer support from your airline over WhatsApp.
And all of this was before WhatsApp launched its business service.
So this isn't just demand. This is how business is done, today, in a large number of countries around the world.
Living in America and not being a regular WhatsApp user, I had a similar reaction when I first heard about this. It wasn’t until I started talking to developers outside America -- especially in Brazil and India, areas where SMS is unreliable and expensive, and where WhatsApp is ubiquitous -- that I realized how powerful this product could actually be.
Simple -> WeChat and the Chinese market is the only citation you need. Your argument is probably then "but that's China" and I think that's basically the point of offering this...to test it in WhatsApp's markets where WeChat doesn't have dominance.
In South America it's HUGE. The insurance company I used to work for even started underwriting over WhatsApp, and it was all user-driven. In countries like Brazil or my own Uruguay, there's no SMS, only WhatsApp (carrier's faults that were greedy and wanted to keep charging per SMS).
Using WhatsApp rather than a browser based system for the chat would be a much slicker client experience.
In the first case it's not different from you and me messaging about business. It doesn't require anything more than the standard WhatsApp app.
If they were using a common account then yes, WhatsApp would have done something new for businesses as they did with the APIs they let Twilio use.
No, the WhatsApp Business API is both in and outbound.
The rise of that, in my opinion, is exactly mapped onto my growing disenchantment with Twitter and while not the only driver, is a big part of why I left.
It seems to me, businesses have made intentional changes to ensure all other forms of contact with them are so poor and ineffectual, that you'll move those discussions into your family/friends public chat spaces because none of the private alternatives work at all.
</end grumpy old man rant>
My dentist texts me appointment confirmations these days. I like that.
Also, I've been seeing more and more people texting/messaging in a professional role as that is what they are used to (as opposed to calling, or checking e-mail).
Conversely, email is cheaper than cell phones. Few of my staff have company provided phones, but they all have company provided email addresses.
Do I want to talk to GEICO the same way? No.