When you browse photos of your high school lab partner’s dog, Facebook makes shopping easier. Yes, the Instagram store and Facebook market are already prominently displayed in the lower navigation tab of the app.

But now, you can also shop on WhatsApp and other updates. Today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced three e-commerce updates for Facebook products in the live audio room: stores on WhatsApp and Marketplace, store announcements, and Instagram visual search.

“More than 1 billion people use the Marketplace every month, so we make it easier for businesses to bring their stores to the Marketplace to attract more people,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post.

When customers view the store on WhatsApp, they can choose to chat with the merchant before making a purchase. At the F8 conference earlier this month, Facebook revealed an update to WhatsApp for Business; previously, it might take weeks to start a business Account, but now, businesses can register in just a few minutes.

Although WhatsApp has more than 2 billion global users, only about 175 million people use WhatsApp Business accounts to send messages every day to provide customer support and other services.

Given that Facebook has been promoting e-commerce on platforms such as Instagram, it makes sense for this move to also extend to WhatsApp. The deployment of the WhatsApp store is about to begin, and now stores in the United States can obtain inventory in the Marketplace store through on-site payment.

The next feature is store advertising, which aims to provide a more personalized shopping experience based on people’s personal shopping habits. Zuckerberg said: “We are launching a feature that will allow the company to send buyers to the place where they are most likely to buy based on their buying behavior”.

As of now, AR dynamic advertising has been launched in the United States-Huda Beauty Companies such as Laura Mercier and Laura Mercier are using these ads to let customers try out AR lipstick shades before buying.

These augmented reality trial experiences are available through API integration with Modiface and Perfect Corp. Earlier this year, Pinterest partnered with ModiFace to launch a trial version of augmented reality eyeshadow.

On Instagram, a visual search function based on artificial intelligence will be launched for testing in the next few months.

“A lot of shopping discoveries start with visual discovery, right? Then you will see something that you think is great. Then, you know, maybe you want to see other similar products, or you want to learn how to get these Products,” Zuckerberg explained.And this is the problem that artificial intelligence can really help  to solve.”

With this artificial intelligence, people will be able to upload their own photos, even those photos that haven’t been posted on Instagram can also find similar elements.

Facebook is not the first company to use this technology. For example, see Cadeera, Where Search, or Stye.ai. But introducing this technology to major platforms may change the way we shop, which seems to be Facebook’s current goal.

The post Facebook Is Bringing Shops To WhatsApp And Marketplace appeared first on Techlist.

OLX, Pakistan’s number one marketplace, has launched Its first offline customer facilitation center along with CarFirst at Packages Mall in Lahore. The official inauguration ceremony of this facilitation center held on Friday, February 28, 2020, at the Packages Mall in Lahore.

According to the press release, the facilitation center will host well recognized and trusted facilities such as OLX CarPro’s inspection area, a car inspection service launched by OLX which helps buyers in making the right decision before buying a car, and CarFirst’s Purchase Center where sellers can sell their cars without the hassle and get paid instantly. Whereas, in case of any queries, customers will also have the option of interacting with the OLX team directly at all times.

While talking about this launch, Country Manager of OLX Pakistan, Bilal Bajwa said,

“While online growth is highly scalable, offline channels have great utility as well, since they provide an in-person customer connect. The center will also serve as a transparent and safe exchange point whereby buyers and sellers can meet to transact and enjoy hassle-free facilities such as instant payments in a safe and secure environment.”

Commenting on the opening of OLX’s Facilitation Center and CarFirst’s Purchase Center, Country Purchase Manager of CarFirst, Mahrukh Naim Mirza, said,

“Convenience and catering to the demands of customers is at the core of everything we do at CarFirst and to that end we are happy to open our doors in Packages Mall. We’ve previously hosted multiple successful Car Galas in Packages Mall, and we receive a high traffic for our services from that region. CarFirst’s Purchase Center at Packages Mall will have all our trusted services, including Foree Payment which provides our customers with a quick, convenient and secure way of selling their car. Our customers at Packages Mall will be able to have their cars inspected, priced, and sold under one roof and also drive away with the full payment for their car, all within an hour!”

The OLX Customer Facilitation Center is a reflection of its commitment towards facilitating its customers in every possible way with innovative solutions and offerings where many more of such initiatives will follow in the future.

About OLX

OLX has been operating in Pakistan since 2007 when the company’s principal; Naspers – One of the biggest technology investment group headquartered in Cape Town decided to expand its footprint in Pakistan in 2011. Since then, OLX has been pivotal in developing online marketplaces in Pakistan working in 14 diverse categories. OLX generates more than 20 Million page views in a day having 5 million App downloads. Over 50,000 conversations take place daily on OLX with an ad being posted every 2 seconds.

About CarFirst

CarFirst is Pakistan’s most trusted trading platform, with a nationwide network of purchase centers and warehouses. CarFirst was founded in 2016 and has been the recipient of the largest Series ‘A’ investment in Pakistan from Frontier Car Group, and the largest Series ‘B’ investment from OLX Group.

The post OLX Launches Its First Customer Facilitation Center in Lahore appeared first on Techlist.

It’s no easy thing to sell a WordPress theme, especially as a new developer or freelancer. However, for those who grasp a few concepts to sprout sales, there’s no end to the money one can make.

One such individual discovered this himself. The Avada theme, found at Envato marketplace, is a top selling theme. Its developer, Themefusion, crossed the 10 million dollar marker not too long ago.

A normal license for Avada costs $59, and since its creation it has received over 200,000 sales.

Muhammad Haris Zulfiqar a Pakistani Freelancer and Luke Beck have limited themselves to Avada only on ThemeForest. There store showcases no other products unlike other freelancers who sell WordPress themes, as well as Plugins and other items.

Luke Beck with his family in Florida

Luke Beck is a designer based in the United States with a plethora of experience in web and print design.  He designed the layouts and interfaces of Avada, and he also has his own store at ThemeForest. Haris, a freelancer who works out of his house in Lahore, Pakistan began ThemeFusion after meeting Beck online in 2011. He mainly writes code for Avada.

Muhammad Haris – co-creator of Themefusion & Avada

Haris began his career as a freelancer, and is still happy with both the quality of his work and the money he makes. However, after working alone for a while, he teamed up with Beck to being developing a WordPress Theme.

Their work paid off. Haris is a known millionaire in Pakistan, having made his millions freelancing.

There are many Pakistani Freelancer alone, many of which possess an array of talents that allow them to do their jobs effectively. It is a rapidly growing profession, especially in Pakistan, where more people are looking at their computers for employment.

Like Haris, it’s possible for any freelancer to earn money online without relying on the government.

The post Pakistani Freelancer Made Millions Dollars by Selling a WordPress Theme appeared first on Techlist.