Facebook said it reached an agreement to acquire Kustomer, an omnichannel CRM platform that enables businesses to manage customer interactions across channels. Kustomer will continue to operate the business as usual while the acquisition is being checked by regulators. Facebook is expected to pay around USD 1 billion for the start-up, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter. 

The deal will help Facebook expand its efforts on the e-commerce market, supporting further integration of Facebook services like WhatsApp and Messenger into business sales platforms and communications with customers. Kustomer already offers its services on Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

Unified customer conversations 

Kustomer brings customer conversations from various channels together into a single-screen view. It helps businesses automate repetitive tasks so their agents can maximise the time and quality of interactions with customers, Facebook said. Facebook added it plans to support Kustomer’s operations by providing the resources it needs to scale its business, improve and innovate its product offering. 

Facebook will continue to support the numerous options that businesses have to integrate their CRM platform of choice with its messaging services.

Kustomer co-founders Brad Birnbaum and Jeremy Suriel and the rest of the Kustomer team will join Facebook soon. 

Earlier in 2020, Facebook launched Shops, a service that helps companies set up an online store accessible on both Facebook and Instagram. It's also been expanding options for companies doing business over WhatsApp.