Guidance Needed on Our WhatsApp Conversational Commerce Order Flow

Shopify Discussion
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Hello Shopify users and product team,

We are a WhatsApp-first conversational commerce business. Customers interact with our staff or automation via WhatsApp to place orders. We use Shopify Draft Orders to represent these customer purchases, collect payment through an external payment provider’s payment link, and upon successful payment, convert the Draft Order into a paid Shopify Order.

Is using Shopify Draft Orders as the primary order object for customer purchases originating from WhatsApp conversations fully compliant with Shopify’s intended Draft Order workflows and Terms of Service?

Additionally, if customers select products on our Shopify storefront and intentionally choose “Order on WhatsApp” instead of using Shopify Checkout, where the purchase is subsequently completed as a Shopify Draft Order via WhatsApp, is this architecture permitted?

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Hey @iminos

hope you’re doing well!

Using draft orders created through conversations is a supported Shopify workflow. However, whether your specific WhatsApp to Draft Order flow and external payment process fully complies with Shopify’s Terms of Service depends on your payment’s setup and store configuration. I’d recommend confirming this directly with Shopify support for an official answer.

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@iminos ,
Yes using Draft Orders for orders created through WhatsApp is a common and supported workflow especially when sales are assisted by your team. Converting a paid Draft Order into a Shopify Order after receiving payment is generally in line with how Draft Orders are intended to be used.

The part that deserves clarification is directing customers away from Shopify Checkout after they have already started shopping on your storefront. Whether that’s fully compliant can depend on your payment setup and Shopifys policies. If this is core to your business model I’d recommend getting confirmation from Shopify Partner or Merchant Support so you have an official answer for your specific implementation.

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thank you for your message. Does shopify has an official email that i can write to? pls share if you are know.

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Hey @iminos .

Hope you are doing great.
WhatsApp draft orders are allowed because Shopify supports creating orders outside its platform. However, using external links to process payments outside Shopify Checkout, such as an Order on WhatsApp button, might violate the Terms of Service. I really suggest checking with Shopify support before doing this.