Wechat, the largest social media app in China, has demonstrated its leading position in social media, payment, etc. One noticeable trend is its emphasis on the "Mini-program" - simple apps that are embedded in the app.
While keeping its position as the dominant social app and payment app in China, WeChat is also trying to replace App Store/Android Store by launching “Mini-programs”. WeChat initiated “mini-programs” in 2019 and now has 7Mn+ mini-programs on its platform. Mini programs are frequently used in ordering online and accumulating points. Also, the “Health code” that permits entering buildings and restaurants is frequently used. Other mini programs include games and videos.
From user's perspective, mini program is extremely easy to use. I don’t need to download multiple apps for ordering. I just simply open WeChat, and the apps are integrated within WeChat. Over the past year I used 500+ mini programs, and it saved the time and energy to download their apps individually. From the developer’s perspective, mini program is much easier to develop and is highly effective for gathering consumers’ information and building connections with them.
Considering monetization, Wechat is free to developers and users. There are display ads for specific free apps, such as Weibo (Chinese twitter), and the developer can pay a membership fee so that users can use it for free.
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