Private messaging in MultiMerch
MultiMerch Marketplace offers a built-in private messaging system that makes it possible for customers to communicate with sellers directly within your marketplace, without leaving your website and resorting to external communication via email.
Private messaging in MultiMerch is designed to make customer communication with sellers easier both before and after the sale has been made – by allowing customers to make inquiries about products and about orders.
The updated private messaging system is available in MultiMerch starting with MultiMerch 8.7.
Customer conversations with vendors
There are two ways for a customer to initiate a conversation with the seller – from the product page or from the order details page.
If messaging is enabled in MultiMerch and the customer is logged into their account, they will be able to message the vendor for pre-sale questions by using the "Contact seller" button either in vendor's profile or on the product page.
This displays a "Send message" popup that makes it possible for the customer to contact the vendor directly inside the marketplace. The vendor is then then notified about new messages via email.
Another option for the customer to contact a vendor is after an order has been placed. In this case, the customer can initiate a conversation with the vendor directly from the "View order" customer interface.
If the customer has purchased products from multiple vendors, it's possible to maintain multiple conversations with vendors on the same page.
Customers can view and respond to all their conversations – both regular inquiries and conversations related to orders – through the "Messages" section in their accounts.
This provides the complete overview of all messages between the customer and all vendors.
Conversation management for vendors
Vendors can view and manage all of their conversations through the main "Messages" section in their vendor account.
If the customer has sent a message about a specific order, vendors can also access and respond to it in their own "Order details" section. This makes it easier to keep track of conversations related to specific orders.
Attaching files and images to messages
MultiMerch 8.7 makes it possible for both customers and vendors to attach files and images to messages in their conversations. This is useful when participants want to provide additional information such as shipping slips, payment receipts or photos of products.
The marketplace administrator can control whether to allow attachments and specify file type restrictions if needed through MultiMerch settings.
If file attachments are enabled, both customers and vendors will see an "Upload file" button when initiating or responding to a conversation.
Once the file is attached and the message is sent, the attachment can be downloaded by the other party.
Admin controls
MultiMerch 8.7 introduces a new conversation management interface for marketplace administrators. Marketplace admins can now view all conversations by all customers and vendors on the marketplace.
In addition to this, it is now possible for administrators to take part in conversations between customers and vendors. This is especially useful for dispute resolution and providing additional information about the matter of the conversation.
