wechat impact report

Inaugural Report on WeChat Platform Data

Translated presentation by Grata.co Translated from “微信的 ‘影响力’: 首份微信平台数据化研究报告” (2015-01-27). All data courtesy Tencent Tech.

January 2015

In the four years since it’s birth as “Tencent App” in January 2011, WeChat has grown from a simple messaging “app” into a cultural phenomenon changing social and economic behaviors in China in profound ways.

While much has been written about WeChat already, this report is meant to be a deep dive on WeChat platform data to understand it’s current state and what to expect in the future. Data for this report relies on a June 2014 survey of users in all thirty-one Chinese provinces and municipalities. Official Accounts were surveyed separately and data from that report is referenced here as well.

Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

Survey data pointed to the fact that the majority of WeChat users are male.

Male 64.3%

Female 35.7%

WeChat male to female user ratio


As a group, WeChat users are quite young, with a median age of twenty-six. Ninety-percent of users are under thirty-six years old.

of WeChat users are between the age of eighteen and thirty-six.

18-25y 45.4%

26-35y 40.8% 36-50y

9.5%

Under 18y 2.0%

51-60y 1.4%

Unknown 0.6%

Over 60y 0.3%


WeChat users mostly fall into four categories: private enterprise, self-employed, student, and public sector.

of WeChat users fall into four occupation categories

Private Enterprise

31.9%

Self-Employed or Freelance

28.3%

Student 19.7%

Public Sector 10.6%

Specialized Industry 4.1%

Military/Party 2.5%

Farming 1.1%

Unknown 1.0%

Retired or Unemployed

0.5%

Other 0.3%


WeChat users are increasingly using mobile data networks to access WeChat. More than 40% of users are using more than 400M/month.

of WeChat users consume more than 100M/month of mobile data

>400M 43.2%

201-400M 23.3%

101-200M 13.9%

51-100M 8.9%

20-50M 4.8%

Unknown 3.9%

<20M 2.0%


WeChat has become an ever-present part of many users lives, with one in four reporting they open the app more than thirty times per day.

open WeChat more than ten times per day

<5 times 17.4%

5-10 times 20.9%

10-20 times 17.0%

20-30 times 13.3%

30-40 times 5.9%

40-50 times 2.5%

>50 times 16.5%

<Daily 6.5%


WeChat has become a default social networking tool for Chinese users. Almost half of all WeChat users have more than 100 contacts.

of WeChat users have more than fifty contacts.

<50 37.3%

50-99 22.5%

100-199 37.0%

>200 12.2%

*** There is an error in the original document’s chart: the percentages sum to 109%. From the text, it appears the extra nine percent is in either the 100-199 segment or >200 segment.


of WeChat users report meeting new friends through WeChat or re-establishing contact with old friends

No increase 42.7%

+1-5% 14.9%

+6-10% 13.0%

>40% 11.8%

+11-20% 9.5%

+21-40% 8.1%


worth of mobile data was consumed by Chinese WeChat users in the last year, equivalent to 4.24% of all mobile data consumed in China in 2013.

$13.8B

$945M $352M $64M $0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

$12,000

$14,000

$16,000

Data Gaming Official Accounts

Other

(Millions of US Dollars)

[Translator’s Note: it is unclear how “Data” in the chart is defined and differentiated from the other three segments.]


of WeChat users report increased mobile data consumption because of WeChat

of those users reported an increase of thirty-percent or more.

Unknown 13.0%

No Change 33.2%

Increased 54.0%

+10-20% 38.3%

+21-30% 21.4%

+31-50% 19.1%

+51-80% 11.3%

>80% 9.9%

Other 100.0%

Unknown 13%

No Change

33% Increased 54%


WeChat users consume more content on WeChat than any other app. WeChat is bigger than weibo, shopping, video, music, map, and email services combined.

WeChat 27.7%

Browser 26.9%

QQ 14.5%

Gaming 8.6%

Weibo 4.8%

Shopping 4.8%

Video 4.6% Music

2.8%

Maps 2.6%

Email 1.8%

Other 0.9%


Nearly half of WeChat users have used WeChat stickers.

of WeChat users have paid for stickers

56.5%

38.3%

5.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Never used Free user Paid user


According to estimates, WeChat is a direct driver of US$1.76B in lifestyle spending.

of entertainment spend is estimated to be driven by WeChat

53.6%

20.0% 13.2% 11.3%

2.0% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%


of WeChat users who use the taxi booking feature, spend on average 100RMB (~US$16) or more per month

50.3%

34.3% 8.3%

3.9% 2.8%

0.6%

Only use 1-2 times

100RMB (~US$16)

200RMB

>500RMB (~US$80)

300RMB

400RMB


of Official Accounts WeChat users follow are Brand and Media accounts.

29.1% 25.4%

20.7% 18.9%

2.8%

Unofficial Media Channels

Verified Media Channels

Don't Follow OAs

Brand Channels

Marketing Channels

Official Accounts have become the most important WeChat service. Almost eighty percent of WeChat users follow Official Accounts.


follow Official Accounts to keep informed

Get information

41.1%

Complement their lifestyle

36.9%

Learn 13.7%

Other 8.3%


of Official Account owners spend less than 10RMB/month (US$1.60) on services

10RMB or less

42.1%

10-100RMB 29.5%

201-500RMB 14.7% 101-200RMB

8.4%

500RMB or more 5.3%

Services available to Official Account owners skew towards a low price model.


of organizations allocate spending to manage their Official Account on the WeChat platform or to develop custom features using the developer interfaces

29%

19%

3% 1% 1%

47%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50% (US Dollars)


jobs are estimated to have been created by WeChat

1,920,000

8,150,000

300,000

9,780,000

0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

Direct Jobs Indirect Jobs

App Platform

Official Accounts

of those jobs were driven by the Official Account platform, while 300,000 were driven by the WeChat App platform


WeChat users have donated through the WeChat giving platform. 95% of those users made donations less than 100RMB (~US$16).

< 100RMB 95%

> 100RMB 5%


Massive Scale

Monthly active users globally

#1 App

Survey respondents use WeChat more

than any other app

Driven by Social

Of WeChat users have fifty or more

contacts

Strengthens Ties

Found new friends or got back in contact

with old ones

Interactive

Claim they interact more with friends

because of WeChat


Over 60% of WeChat users report opening the app more than 10

times daily.

WeChat is a major channel for consuming

content for a high percentage of users

40% seek content through WeChat Official

Accounts, broadcast messaging, and groups

Almost 80% of survey respondents follow

Official Accounts

Among those that follow Official Accounts, 41.1% do so primarily to

get information.

WeChat has become a market leading Social

Media Platform


40% of users report using

stickers and games in WeChat

WeChat Stickers WeChat Gaming

Use well-known cartoon characters

to express emotions

The majority of users are not

paying for stickers

A way to socialize and compete with

friends

WeChat is a mature gaming

distribution platform


A platform for entrepreneurs

30% of Official Accounts are personal accounts. Of those, 35.7% invest in upgrades to their accounts

A channel for businesses and organizations

70% of Official Accounts are for businesses or organizations. Of those, 53% allocate budget to maintain their accounts

A WeChat model for mobile commerce

WeChat Stores were launched for Official Accounts, opening new retail capabilities and opportunities


WeChat Social

WeChat Users

3rd Party Developers

Official Account Platform

Media, Finance, Social Causes

Economy, Tech, Laws


Integrated Services

Ecosystems

Fast Iteration

Evolving Step-by-step

Retail Product Suite

O2O Services

Industry Opportunities

Official Account Platform

New Product Features

Shake feature, friend groups

Technology Layer

NLP, Data applications


Traffic

Medical

Household

Education

Public Spending

Borders

Weather

Residence

Social Security

Marriage

Taxes

Platform Layer

Smart Government

Smart Living

Smart Enterprise

Application Layer SOA Middleware

WeChat Official

Account Platform

Citizens Smart City



The internet, mobile internet, and traditional industries. The revolution that started with the internet in the palm of our hands, is profoundly changing every aspect of our life and work. The fundamentals of business have changed, the shape of organizations is evolving, every type of faster and more useful models are being put forward, and put rapidly into practice. WeChat is at the forefront of this wave of innovation. A force that cannot be ignored. In some places, it has already made a huge impact and become part of the ecosystem, and in other areas, this profound change is only just beginning.

Grata helps businesses turn their WeChat Official Account into multi-agent contact centers for customer service, sales, and support. Try a live demo of our WeChat console at www.grata.co Follow us on WeChat or Twitter @Grata_co or scan the WeChat QR code below.

wechat impact report

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