Wildberries has opened access to its own WB Chat messenger. The app can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play, and RuStore, and the web version also works. Authorization takes place through the user's WB ID account on the marketplace.
The set of functions is basic: messaging, photos, videos and files, voice messages with automatic decryption, calls, statuses, groups and channels. The service is in beta testing mode, the developers warn about possible errors and unstable operation.
The launch history was public. In June, the company's founder, Tatiana Kim, spoke about an internal messenger for employees with plans to scale first to Russian and then to foreign markets. In early August, Kommersant discovered the registration of several dozen domains with RVB LLC related to the project. The next day, the company confirmed the preparation of its own communication service. On Google Play, the publisher of the application is listed as WB FZE from the Hamriyah Free Economic Zone in the Emirate of Sharjah.
Market participants estimate investments in the creation of a messenger at 2-5 billion rubles over the horizon of several years, depending on the complexity of the development. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti agree that the service is unlikely to go beyond the ecosystem of the marketplace.
For the seller, practical meaning does not appear today, but as integration progresses. Linking to the WB ID means that the messenger's audience is the buyers of the site with an already confirmed identity and order history. The logical next step for such a design is to transfer order communication, product questions, and feedback to a separate channel, and then promote through channels inside the messenger.
What should the seller do now. Install the app and see how the channels work: if the site opens them to brands, early entry is usually cheaper. Track changes in the offer in the customer communication section — it is through the offer that the platform establishes mandatory communication channels. And do not transfer work processes there while the service is in beta: voice transcripts and correspondence on orders are data, the storage mode of which has not yet been described for a third—party business.
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