As you likely already know, China is the largest eCommerce market. The latest trend in Chinese eCommerce is the rise of Chinese social commerce apps.
These apps combine social media and e-commerce, giving users the opportunity to share their purchases and feedback. Moreover, Chinese social commerce apps encourage impulse buying and build trust. A recent study revealed that social recommendations are the main reason behind the 80% of impulse buying in China.
Some Western social commerce apps are Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. However, no Western platform has matched the success of Chinese platforms. Listed below are the top Chinese social commerce apps. You’ll also read why you should include them in your strategy if you’re interested in selling online in China.
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WeChat is often called China’s Facebook. Yet, We Chat has developed into something much more than just a social media app! The app has 1.17 billion users and plays a huge part in daily life in China. It offers services such as payment, taxi-hailing, e-commerce, and so much more.
WeChat has three social commerce functionalities: Stores, Mini-programs, and Good product Circle.
WeChat stores are one of the easiest ways to start selling through social apps in China. However, it has limited marketing options as users can only access these stores with a WeChat official account or through a user sharing the store/product on WeChat. These limitations have led many brands to skip this option, making it a bit out of style.
WeChat Mini-Programs are apps that allow users to access app-like functions without leaving the platform. This feature has over 700 million monthly active users. They can share products or mini-programs themselves to their WeChat moments or directly to other users.
WeChat Good Product Circle basically allows users to see the purchase of other people. It is divided into three categories: “recommended products,” “everyone bought,” and “circle group”.
Pinduoduo
The platform went live in 2015. Pinduoduo experienced the fastest growth for any e-commerce company. Its gross merchandise value exceeded RMB 100 billion or USD 15.64 billion.
The reason why Pinduoduo has achieved skyrocketing success is they chose to target tier 3 and 4 cities, instead of competitive areas. Pinduoduo recognized that these markets would experience growth in the coming years.
Moreover, another reason why the company has succeeded is due to its unique social commerce features. These functionalities encourage users to share products and post reviews.
Furthermore, users receive discounts and free gifts by just opening the app. All of these incentives are to encourage users to buy.
XiaoHongShu
Launched in 2013, XiaoHongShu has experienced incredible popularity growth over the years. It enables users to share overseas shopping tips and product reviews. In 2014, the platform added eCommerce functionality, making them one of the first and most popular Chinese social commerce apps.
Popular posts and products witness strong engagement rates and shares across platforms. Moreover, XiaoHongShu is one of the few Chinese social media platforms that allow users to share content outside of the platform.
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