WeChat's powerful ecosystem enables local merchants to connect with Chinese users
Announcement posted by WeChat 02 Nov 2017
Sydney 02 November, 2017: WeChat has taken a major step through its first series of WeChat Connect events in Sydney and Melbourne to showcase its all-encompassing mobile ecosystem tailored for Australian merchants serving the Chinese community.
As of June 2017, Weixin and WeChat have a combined reach of over 963 million monthly active users in China. This translates to a vast opportunity for businesses catering to the Chinese community and visitors in Australia. At the WeChat Connect event, the WeChat team together with their Australian partners demonstrated the innovative uses of the platform for various businesses to better connect with the booming Chinese market.
Operating on a single platform, WeChat allows Chinese users to explore, connect and experience Australia all within one app. The WeChat ecosystem includes a number of functionalities including the WeChat Mini Program, a feature that allows users to experience various services without the need to download or install, WeChat Official Accounts for businesses and a mobile payment platform, WeChat Pay.
Connecting Chinese users and businesses with WeChat Pay and Mini Program
As the outbound travel segment continues to grow in China, more Chinese travellers purchase internationally and prefer to use mobile payment. WeChat Pay offers huge potential to serve as a payment bridge between travellers and Australian businesses.
Chinese travellers are commonly looking for fast and convenient payment while shopping abroad. WeChat Pay, a payment feature integrated into the WeChat platform, allows users to complete payments quickly and easily with their smartphones. The WeChat Wallet features Quick Pay, QR Code Payments, In-App Web-Based Payments and Native In-App Payments.
The use of WeChat Pay will solve many issues for Chinese users when they shop in Australia, and local merchants are able to leverage the large user base to gain loyalty and become even more competitive.
Additionally, businesses are able to tap WeChat Mini Programs to engage users and build their brand and influence with the Chinese community. Mini Programs can be discovered in many ways, such as scanning offline Mini Program code, recommending by friends, clicking through Official Accounts or Discover tab, etc. Through Mini Programs, brands and merchants can offer loyalty programs, virtual gift cards and more.
A new way to experience Australian cities
WeChat also unveiled the WeChat City Experience Sydney Mini Program, a new way tourists can connect with a city through the app. The tool, previewed in partnership with Tourism Australia and Destination New South Wales, will offer Chinese tourists a different way to experience the popular destination through a self-guided interface that navigates key places of interest, all without leaving their everyday go-to app.
“We know that Chinese tastes in tourism are maturing and their interests are increasingly focused on individual, experiential travel. It is great that as an industry, we can tap into the potential of the largest social mobile app in China to deliver more destination information on demand to high-value Chinese fully independent travellers,” said Tourism Australia’s Andy Jiang, Country Manager, China.
This year the government announced that 2017 is the year of China Tourism, in an effort to drive continued growth in what is Australia’s most valuable tourism market. Last year, 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Australia and by 2020 the sector has the potential to be worth more than $13 billion.
“The WeChat Connect event offered a fascinating insight into China’s biggest social media platform. Chinese tourists, visitors, students, migrants, investors are pivotal in Melbourne’s growth story and it is crucial to educate local users and businesses on how to engage with this market. We look forward to future collaborations that will enhance Melbourne’s reputation as a Smart City and the most livable city in the world,” commented Councillor Philip Le Liu, City of Melbourne.
As of June 2017, Weixin and WeChat have a combined reach of over 963 million monthly active users in China. This translates to a vast opportunity for businesses catering to the Chinese community and visitors in Australia. At the WeChat Connect event, the WeChat team together with their Australian partners demonstrated the innovative uses of the platform for various businesses to better connect with the booming Chinese market.
Operating on a single platform, WeChat allows Chinese users to explore, connect and experience Australia all within one app. The WeChat ecosystem includes a number of functionalities including the WeChat Mini Program, a feature that allows users to experience various services without the need to download or install, WeChat Official Accounts for businesses and a mobile payment platform, WeChat Pay.
Connecting Chinese users and businesses with WeChat Pay and Mini Program
As the outbound travel segment continues to grow in China, more Chinese travellers purchase internationally and prefer to use mobile payment. WeChat Pay offers huge potential to serve as a payment bridge between travellers and Australian businesses.
Chinese travellers are commonly looking for fast and convenient payment while shopping abroad. WeChat Pay, a payment feature integrated into the WeChat platform, allows users to complete payments quickly and easily with their smartphones. The WeChat Wallet features Quick Pay, QR Code Payments, In-App Web-Based Payments and Native In-App Payments.
The use of WeChat Pay will solve many issues for Chinese users when they shop in Australia, and local merchants are able to leverage the large user base to gain loyalty and become even more competitive.
Additionally, businesses are able to tap WeChat Mini Programs to engage users and build their brand and influence with the Chinese community. Mini Programs can be discovered in many ways, such as scanning offline Mini Program code, recommending by friends, clicking through Official Accounts or Discover tab, etc. Through Mini Programs, brands and merchants can offer loyalty programs, virtual gift cards and more.
A new way to experience Australian cities
WeChat also unveiled the WeChat City Experience Sydney Mini Program, a new way tourists can connect with a city through the app. The tool, previewed in partnership with Tourism Australia and Destination New South Wales, will offer Chinese tourists a different way to experience the popular destination through a self-guided interface that navigates key places of interest, all without leaving their everyday go-to app.
“We know that Chinese tastes in tourism are maturing and their interests are increasingly focused on individual, experiential travel. It is great that as an industry, we can tap into the potential of the largest social mobile app in China to deliver more destination information on demand to high-value Chinese fully independent travellers,” said Tourism Australia’s Andy Jiang, Country Manager, China.
This year the government announced that 2017 is the year of China Tourism, in an effort to drive continued growth in what is Australia’s most valuable tourism market. Last year, 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Australia and by 2020 the sector has the potential to be worth more than $13 billion.
“The WeChat Connect event offered a fascinating insight into China’s biggest social media platform. Chinese tourists, visitors, students, migrants, investors are pivotal in Melbourne’s growth story and it is crucial to educate local users and businesses on how to engage with this market. We look forward to future collaborations that will enhance Melbourne’s reputation as a Smart City and the most livable city in the world,” commented Councillor Philip Le Liu, City of Melbourne.