When I was in the U.S., I only used WeChat for chatting and sharing photos in the friend circle. Until I was back to China, I realize I can’t live without WeChat because I need to use it all the time. Start from morning, I must show the Health Code from mini program to enter the building to work. In the noon, I order my lunch from KFC mini program and then pick up from nearby KFC. After work, I spend some time to read news from novel mini program. Basically, I spend 90% of time on WeChat, the rest 10% is on Farm Hero every day.
What Is WeChat Mini Program?
WeChat Mini Program is an application that can be used without downloading and installing. It realizes the dream of “At Your Finger Touch”. Users can open the application by scanning QR code or searching program name on WeChat. Users can read, listen to music, shop, play games, find locations and etc. By using WeChat mini program, we can save both phone storage space and processing time (download, install & register).
Key Statistics about WeChat Mini Program:
“WeChat Revenue and Usage Statistics” reported:
- Daily active WeChat mini programs users at over 300 million in 2019 (China Internet Watch)
- WeChat mini program monthly active users at 746 million in June 2019 (Walk the Chat)
- Average number of mini programs used per user doubled over 2019, with usage increasing by 45% (China Internet Watch)
- WeChat mini programs generated 800 billion RMB in 2019, with average daily transaction volume doubling year-on-year (Walk the Chat)
Those key statistics demonstrate the strong potential of WeChat mini program for business to reach new users, to raise brand awareness, and to boost revenue.
Four Main Ecommerce Categories of Mini Program
- Traditional Shopping
JingDong, Dangdang, Weipinhui are traditional e-commerce brands, and they developed mini programs within WeChat. When users want to shop, they can just assess the e-commerce mini program to shop without downloading the official App.
For me, my favorite e-commerce mini program is Weipinhui. I love to shop high-end fashion and skin care products with great deals. I have compared the Weipinhui App with Weipinhui mini program, the whole experience is different. Weipinhui App needs me to finish several steps before shopping. However, within mini program, I don’t need spend extra time on pre-shopping steps such as registering the account, getting access code, and linking to my Wechat pay or bank account. I just order my goodies from the mini program and pay directly. It is so easy to make the transaction.
- Content Marketing
Content marketing style mini program build a long-term trust relationship with users through content operation of public accounts and video accounts, and develop a closer relationship with users. At the same time, the shopping ads will be perfectly implanted into the content and motivate users to make purchases.
For content marketing, the key is to consistently create high quality content in order to raise user viscosity. “Rice Cake Mommy” is one of my favorite content mini program. She always share useful tips for new mommies, educational stories, yummy meals, skin care recommendations, and game ideas. All those stories are informative, creative, and easy to read. Sometimes, she will recommend new products for kids and mommy to buy. The best thing is if we purchase from her account, we can get special discounts.
- Retail Shopping
For retail shopping style mini program, users can enter the mini program through WeChat search, nearby stores, sharing links, or scanning the QR code of unmanned shelves to complete online selection of goods and payment. Merchants integrate offline resources to deliver goods to users quickly in a short time, so that users can complete shopping in a convenient and economical way with a good experiences. The retention rate of re-purchase is very high.
When I work in IFS building, I always shop some snacks from “Everyday Fresh” vending machine. I just use my WeChat scan the QR code, after it launches the mini program, I can select bread or potato chips from the program, and make purchase. The great thing about retail shopping mini program is I can actually see the real goods and select the one I want, and quick pay through my phone.
- Brand Membership
Brand merchants rely on their existing influence to build their own private traffic and open more sales channels through joint linkage of store shopping guide, public account, video account, WeChat group, live broadcast, and mini program.
When I shop in the H&M store, the salesperson asks me to follow their WeChat official account to get latest fashion trends and promotions. When I am ready to pay, the salesperson will scan my membership code from mini program to collect more credits, and then make the purchase.
Overall, I think WeChat is a super App which integrate the key functions of all Apps. It not only save pre-use steps and time, but also make user experience more convenience and efficiency. For business, mini program could bring brands and users closer in order to maintain a good long-term relationship. Moreover, since the paying process is getting so easy, it will help improve overall conversion rate and sales performance.
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