31% of webshops let customers reach them on WhatsApp
In October 2026 we looked at the public websites of 395 webshops selling in the Netherlands and Belgium, large and small. The phone still dominates. WhatsApp shows up on about a third of the sites, and more often at small and mid-sized shops than at big ones.
Published 27 October 2026
- 31%offer WhatsApp in some form
- 21%have a tap-to-chat WhatsApp link
- 20%run a live chat window
- 74%list a phone number
- 56%offer neither WhatsApp nor chat
How shoppers can reach a webshop
Share of the 395 shops showing each channel on the homepage or the contact page.
By size and country
WhatsApp in any form. Size by website traffic. Each group holds dozens to hundreds of shops, so read it as a direction.
What a webshop can take from this
- WhatsApp is not the norm yet, so offering it still sets a shop apart for customers who would rather type than call.
- More than half of the shops offer neither WhatsApp nor chat. Every question there lands on the phone or in the inbox.
- Only put WhatsApp on your site if someone answers it. A number that never replies costs more trust than it earns.
How we measured
- For each shop we read the homepage and the contact page, without logging in or sending anything. Sites that blocked us are left out.
- We read small and mid-sized shops as the server sends the page, and large shops in a real browser. A button that a script adds later can slip through, so treat the figures as a floor.
- We measured large shops on their public pages only. Anything they offer in a logged-in area or an app is not counted.
Citing this? Tobachat, WhatsApp on webshops, study of October 2026, published 27 October 2026: https://tobachat.nl/en/whatsapp-on-webshops-study/
Other questions about WhatsApp
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