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WeChat recently launched a short video feed called Channels… what do we think about it, and most importantly, what do Chinese Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) think about the new feature? WeChat Video Channels WeChat short video platform looks very similar to the Facebook timeline. Surprisingly, this means its UX is also very different from other short-video platforms such as Douyin …

Back a couple of years ago, WeChat seemed like an unstoppable force. It was completely dominating the Chinese social media landscape, was beating Alibaba in payments and was making forays into e-commerce. Fast-forward to 2020, and users are already spending more time on Douyin than they are on WeChat, swiping for hours between short videos. What went wrong? Too disruptive …

Where did the last hour go? You notice you are scrolling through a feed again, with no memory of opening the app. A cute puppy on Douyin grabbed your attention, bringing a burst of happiness so brief it’s addictive. Conveniently you swiped up to a bottomless feed of 15-second videos, from people (often attractive young females) eating/making food, doing passionate …

Kuaishou and Douyin are the two largest short-video platforms in China. However, due to the difference in their audience demographics, the 2 platforms have evolved quite differently:  Kuaishou has 3-5 times higher e-commerce conversion rates compared to Douyin Kuaishou is more likely to evolve as a closed e-commerce ecosystem while Douyin signed a strategic partnership with Taobao Kuaishou’s is more …

Further data about the impact of the coronavirus on the digital economy was released in a recent report by QuestMobile. Highlights are: 40% drop in traffic for online travel platforms 36% decrease of daily users for short-distance transportation (ride-hailing Apps, mobile map software) Fresh food delivery Apps are booming Strong growth for social media and news 150M new daily active …

The transition from offline to online is usually gradual. But the coronavirus epidemic has pushed lots of retail businesses to the edge of bankruptcy, and many of them have to choose between going online or die. A retail business shifting sales to its WeChat Mini-Program  BESTSELLER Fashion Group China is one of the biggest fashion retailers in China, with more …

Fear over the spread of a new coronavirus has led millions of Chinese people to remain at home, shortly after the end of Chinese lunar new year. The situation is putting a strain on most retail, restaurants, services, tourism industry, and other offline businesses. But is everyone negatively impacted by the virus outbreak? A blessing for the gaming industry As …

The movie “囧妈” (Lost in Russia) is, in many ways, tailor-made for the Chinese New Year festival. It features superstar actor Xu Kun. The protagonist gets stuck on a 6-days train ride to Moscow with his mother, during which he will have to tackle the unspoken issues of their relationship. It is a family-centric show targeting people visiting their loved …

WeChat provides a unique environment for many SaaS systems to thrive. (WalktheChat is one of them). During the last WeChat Open Class conference in Guangzhou, two SaaS companies really stood out… Qingcheng Tech  Around 2 years ago, I noticed most gyms I know around Beijing started to use the same system to handle member signup on WeChat. The system is …

WeChat released some impressive result during the WeChat Open Class last week: WeChat Mini Program’s daily active users reached 300 million 800 billion RMB of transactions happened via WeChat Mini program in 2019 WeChat launched Mini Program notice subscription template to replace template messages WeChat is planning to improve the user experience for accessing “short content”  WeChat will support the …