Meet WeChat, the Most Popular App in China

WeChat is a free application launched by Tencent on January 21, 2011. It was initially developed for sending messages, images and videos, but unlike other chat tools such as WhatsApp or Viber it is equipped with numerous other functions, including payment, online shopping, games, news and much more.

With more than 1.1 billion monthly active accounts, it is the most popular applicatin in China and one of the most widely used applications in the world. Forth, to be precise, as it ranks right after Facebook, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

Why is it so irreplaceable?

The popularity of this application is partly due to the lack of access to other social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others in China mainland. Many of the WeChat features can actually be compared with the ones we grew used to. For example the WeChat’s Moments is not much different from Facebook or Instagram posts. The users upload number of images or videos to which others can comment or like. It shares many similarities with other platforms. Some of those worth mentioning are WeChat mini programs which may be compared to Facebook apps and Ads, which work just like in any other social networking application.

What makes WeChat very different from other social media in the West is WeChat Payment, which can be used literally anywhere to pay for products or services. In short, from major supermarkets to the smallest street vendors, taxi drivers and more, you can pay for products and services using only your phone. Thanks to this option, in China, you are more than likely to come across a person who has not seen actual cash in years.

The main reason, however, for WeChat’s enormous popularity is the fact that it represents a completely integrated ecosystem which can be used for communication, business, education, payment, daily chores, entertainment, advertising and more. It is often been described as “super app”. Instead of opening one app for banking and another for ride-hailing, then a third one to text a friend and a forth one to check out food options nearby, all these options are built directly into WeChat. It includes number of features such as Credit Card repay, Bank loans, Mobile top up, investment, utility bills payment, train/flight tickets purchase, etc. This way the app becomes a one-stop shop for its users, offering literally anything you might need in daily life.

When it comes to entertainment, WeChat offers a huge gaming platform. Up to 2019，it was used by billion of users. This number grew by more than 35 % within only 1 year, from 2018 to 2019.

An access to more than a billion people alone offers endless possibilities. From online sales, gaming, news portals, advertising, to simply using WeChat as a tool to bring awareness to a particular topic, WeChat offers incredible potential for businesses of all sizes.

If you are interested in exploring WeChat for business purposes, contact us. We are happy to help.

Categories: China market, WeChat, China marketing platforms