WhatsApp is the kill shot for Hispanic-market loyalty. Open rates run 70–90% (vs. 30% for email). Hispanic customers prefer it 3:1. No US restaurant ordering competitor offers it natively.

Compliance first

The WhatsApp Business API requires customer opt-in. You cannot blast WhatsApp messages to customer phone numbers without consent. Eatsy bakes the opt-in into every customer signup flow:

  • At checkout: a checkbox “Receive order updates and special offers via WhatsApp” (default unchecked)
  • In the Branded App: a settings toggle the customer can flip anytime
  • In any loyalty signup: same checkbox

Customers can reply “STOP” anytime to opt out. Eatsy handles this automatically.

Don’t import a phone list. You cannot upload a CSV of phone numbers and start blasting WhatsApp. Every recipient must have explicitly opted in via the Eatsy flow above. The penalty for violating WhatsApp’s terms is account suspension, and a suspended WhatsApp Business account is hard to recover.

What you can send

Eatsy supports three message categories:

Transactional (always allowed once opted in): order confirmations, status updates, delivery tracking. These don’t count against your campaign volume.

Utility (always allowed once opted in): receipts, appointment reminders, account updates, loyalty status changes.

Marketing (requires Meta-approved templates): promotional offers, new menu announcements, win-back coupons. You compose the message; Eatsy submits a template to Meta for approval (24–48 hours typical). Once approved, you can send it to your opted-in audience.

Pre-approved templates

Eatsy ships with these pre-approved templates ready to use on day one:

  • Welcome (after first order)
  • Birthday rewards
  • Win-back at 30 days
  • Win-back at 60 days
  • Tier upgrade celebration
  • New menu item announcement
  • Special / promo (generic, customizable)
  • Order ready for pickup
  • Order out for delivery

You can submit custom templates to Meta directly from the dashboard. Approval is usually fast.

Steps to launch your first campaign

  1. Verify your business with Meta. In the dashboard, Marketing → Campaigns → WhatsApp → Verify Business. We’ll guide you through Meta’s verification (15 minutes if your business documents are ready).
  2. Wait for verification. Meta verification typically completes within 1–3 business days. You can use pre-approved templates immediately even before full verification, but only to a small initial audience.
  3. Pick your audience. Marketing → Campaigns → WhatsApp → New Campaign → Audience. Filter by language preference, last order date, ticket size, loyalty tier, location.
  4. Pick a template. Choose from pre-approved templates or submit a custom one. Flamsy AI suggests EN+ES copy variants automatically.
  5. Schedule or send. Send immediately or schedule for a future date/time. We recommend sending in customer-local time zones: typically 11am or 5pm gets the best open rates.

Reading the results

Open rate, click rate, conversion rate (orders within 24 hours of message). Compare to your email campaigns: WhatsApp typically wins on every metric except cost (it’s slightly more expensive per message at scale).

Replies come into the dashboard inbox. A customer can reply directly to your campaign and your team sees it immediately. Useful for handling questions, complaints, or just thanking a regular.

See also: Win-Back Automation, Birthday Rewards.