E- com site assessment in terms of the eight unique features of e-com technology: WeChat
Ubiquity
Thanks to the nature of WeChat this application can literally be used anywhere as long as you have a functioning connection to the internet. However the medium that can be used is officially limited through smartphones. There are no official apps for tablet or pc that have been launched by Tencent Holdings themselves. However there are some third party programs you can download that make for a WeChat experience on your laptop or tablet. But as I stated before these aren’t officially linked with Tencent Holdings. The online purchases are also linked with a payment method of your choice, when you first start up your WeChat account it will ask you to link it to a valid Paypall Account, Bank account, Visa number or payment through your provider, as long as you have money to spend on your accounts linked to WeChat then it is possible to spend it on the in app purchases or advertised products.
Another positive note of the ubiquity is the amount of different operating systems can run WeChat. IOS, Android, Windows Phone, Symbian, and multiple Blackberry operating systems are supported.
Global Reach
Due to the fact that WeChat has many of the same functionalities as Whatsapp it hasn’t really gotten ahold of the Western market yet. However there have been positive signs of improvement for their global distribution. The latest reports I found stated that WeChat had around 800 million users. About 2/3 of these users are Chinese in 2014 and only 1 out of three users is from international users. But compare this to 2013 where they had 600 million users and the international users consisted only of 1 out of 6 accounts then I think you can say they have made huge steps in regards of internationalization.
The reason for this sudden rise is probably the investments that Tencent Holdings has made in the Western market. They allegedly spent around 400 million dollars in advertising in 2014 alone just to speak to a wider international audience. Tencent Holdings has no issues using their global stakes to improve their own market shares as they keep growing and growing they keep getting closer to a large international audience and a global market. So for now their international appeal is still fairly limited, but because of investments this could improve quite fast within the next 2 or 3 years.
Another positive note is the amount of languages that can be used in the actual app. Not only can you use the logical ones such as English and Chinese (simplified and traditional). But there are also options for Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malay, Japanese, Korean, Portugese, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Russian, Hindi and Turkish language settings.
Universal Standards
Now if there is a catch somewhere within WeChat then this is it. Being part of the Chinese Tencent Holdings this will abide by Chinese rules. Meaning that there is censorship in many different ways. The most recent example here is the blocking of certain images and messages originating from Hong Kong during the protests. Off course this is a pity but WeChat has come under scrutiny before by the Chinese government and therefor they are under close surveillance.
In the West the idea of censorship is despicable but to Chinese media companies this is a normal business. And in all honesty it is probably the wisest choice here, because fighting the Chinese government as a Chinese company that has a huge market share and is dominating the Chinese is simply not a good plan. Because no matter how big you are they will find a way to crush you. Just look at how they are able to censor google by using the Great Chinese Firewall, as an outsider you can choose to not go to the Chinese market. But Tencent Holdings simply has no choice here in my opinion.
Richness
The original nature of WeChat is off course as an instant messaging app and these communication methods are plenty present. WeChat is a complete package, where you would need multiple Western apps, WeChat can do all kinds of communication within one app. Not only can you send text messages instantly (like Facebook Messenger, you can also speak to individuals or groups), but you can also send recorded voice messages and pictures to your friends, all of these at high quality and easy to use. The last addition in communication for WeChat was the recent addition of the video calls, these have no issues to compete with Skype for quality. Both video and voice are of excellent quality (according to your internet connection) and can be used all the time. There is just a plethora of possibilities here.
Interactivity
In order to buy stuff through the WeChat Little Store it is necessary to have added companies that use this feature. As of now this is only possible in China but this should soon change as they are trying to expand to the Western countries. Perhaps one day there can be a truly individual approach to this that allows the consumers to sell their own things through the use of the app. As of now it is only a B2C concept but perhaps soon this can evolve to a more C2C oriented approach.
Information density
This is a part where I don’t really know what to say about WeChat. I’ve only been a user for a couple of weeks now and have not actively noticed any big changes. But from what I have seen this app has evolved quite well over the past couple of years. It has given you many new features and possibilities without any visible problems with the application itself. I would say that all changes that are being made are make the app more complete but never actually hamper the way it works. As far as the costs go these have gone up, however it is not really a cost based on the base functionalities of the app but rather for a more personal and individual experience of WeChat by buying special emoticons.
Personalization/Customization
The customization and personalization of WeChat was their first step in the direction of an actual e-commerce business. The ability to send messages, business cards and personalized emoticons is plentiful and easy to do to both individuals and groups of people that are part of your network.
The way you communicate through WeChat is also completely personal. Do you prefer having a personal video conversation with people, use the instant walkie talkie system, record your voice and send these to your friends or just good old fashioned instant messaging and picture sharing. These are all possibilities and choices you make by simply touching your screen.
The next step of the personal mobile commerce system was the addition of WeChat Little Store. This allows you to befriend companies (much like facebook), but by following these companies you can actually buy their products instead of just being kept up to date of current affairs within the company. It is up to your personal choice to befriend these companies as there are no other means of advertising directly to you. This makes for a unique experience for every user depending on the companies and people you added.
Social Technology
The preset of WeChat was the instant messaging part and an underlying social network where you can keep your friends up to date on your current affairs by posting ‘your moments’. In general these are photo albums of recent events that is dependent on the people you added. On top of that the ways in which you can add people is quite fascinating. WeChat has more capabilities of adding people than I have ever seen before. Not only can you add your phone contacts and scan a QR-code to friend people, but it is also possible to add your facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Or to find people in your area that also use the app. But most surprisingly you can also shake your phone and this will bring you into contact with other people that are shaking their phone at that time will inside the app. In all honesty this was the first time that I have ever seen such a feature to add people to your social network.
Thanks to the nature of WeChat this application can literally be used anywhere as long as you have a functioning connection to the internet. However the medium that can be used is officially limited through smartphones. There are no official apps for tablet or pc that have been launched by Tencent Holdings themselves. However there are some third party programs you can download that make for a WeChat experience on your laptop or tablet. But as I stated before these aren’t officially linked with Tencent Holdings. The online purchases are also linked with a payment method of your choice, when you first start up your WeChat account it will ask you to link it to a valid Paypall Account, Bank account, Visa number or payment through your provider, as long as you have money to spend on your accounts linked to WeChat then it is possible to spend it on the in app purchases or advertised products.
Another positive note of the ubiquity is the amount of different operating systems can run WeChat. IOS, Android, Windows Phone, Symbian, and multiple Blackberry operating systems are supported.
Global Reach
Due to the fact that WeChat has many of the same functionalities as Whatsapp it hasn’t really gotten ahold of the Western market yet. However there have been positive signs of improvement for their global distribution. The latest reports I found stated that WeChat had around 800 million users. About 2/3 of these users are Chinese in 2014 and only 1 out of three users is from international users. But compare this to 2013 where they had 600 million users and the international users consisted only of 1 out of 6 accounts then I think you can say they have made huge steps in regards of internationalization.
The reason for this sudden rise is probably the investments that Tencent Holdings has made in the Western market. They allegedly spent around 400 million dollars in advertising in 2014 alone just to speak to a wider international audience. Tencent Holdings has no issues using their global stakes to improve their own market shares as they keep growing and growing they keep getting closer to a large international audience and a global market. So for now their international appeal is still fairly limited, but because of investments this could improve quite fast within the next 2 or 3 years.
Another positive note is the amount of languages that can be used in the actual app. Not only can you use the logical ones such as English and Chinese (simplified and traditional). But there are also options for Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malay, Japanese, Korean, Portugese, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Russian, Hindi and Turkish language settings.
Universal Standards
Now if there is a catch somewhere within WeChat then this is it. Being part of the Chinese Tencent Holdings this will abide by Chinese rules. Meaning that there is censorship in many different ways. The most recent example here is the blocking of certain images and messages originating from Hong Kong during the protests. Off course this is a pity but WeChat has come under scrutiny before by the Chinese government and therefor they are under close surveillance.
In the West the idea of censorship is despicable but to Chinese media companies this is a normal business. And in all honesty it is probably the wisest choice here, because fighting the Chinese government as a Chinese company that has a huge market share and is dominating the Chinese is simply not a good plan. Because no matter how big you are they will find a way to crush you. Just look at how they are able to censor google by using the Great Chinese Firewall, as an outsider you can choose to not go to the Chinese market. But Tencent Holdings simply has no choice here in my opinion.
Richness
The original nature of WeChat is off course as an instant messaging app and these communication methods are plenty present. WeChat is a complete package, where you would need multiple Western apps, WeChat can do all kinds of communication within one app. Not only can you send text messages instantly (like Facebook Messenger, you can also speak to individuals or groups), but you can also send recorded voice messages and pictures to your friends, all of these at high quality and easy to use. The last addition in communication for WeChat was the recent addition of the video calls, these have no issues to compete with Skype for quality. Both video and voice are of excellent quality (according to your internet connection) and can be used all the time. There is just a plethora of possibilities here.
Interactivity
In order to buy stuff through the WeChat Little Store it is necessary to have added companies that use this feature. As of now this is only possible in China but this should soon change as they are trying to expand to the Western countries. Perhaps one day there can be a truly individual approach to this that allows the consumers to sell their own things through the use of the app. As of now it is only a B2C concept but perhaps soon this can evolve to a more C2C oriented approach.
Information density
This is a part where I don’t really know what to say about WeChat. I’ve only been a user for a couple of weeks now and have not actively noticed any big changes. But from what I have seen this app has evolved quite well over the past couple of years. It has given you many new features and possibilities without any visible problems with the application itself. I would say that all changes that are being made are make the app more complete but never actually hamper the way it works. As far as the costs go these have gone up, however it is not really a cost based on the base functionalities of the app but rather for a more personal and individual experience of WeChat by buying special emoticons.
Personalization/Customization
The customization and personalization of WeChat was their first step in the direction of an actual e-commerce business. The ability to send messages, business cards and personalized emoticons is plentiful and easy to do to both individuals and groups of people that are part of your network.
The way you communicate through WeChat is also completely personal. Do you prefer having a personal video conversation with people, use the instant walkie talkie system, record your voice and send these to your friends or just good old fashioned instant messaging and picture sharing. These are all possibilities and choices you make by simply touching your screen.
The next step of the personal mobile commerce system was the addition of WeChat Little Store. This allows you to befriend companies (much like facebook), but by following these companies you can actually buy their products instead of just being kept up to date of current affairs within the company. It is up to your personal choice to befriend these companies as there are no other means of advertising directly to you. This makes for a unique experience for every user depending on the companies and people you added.
Social Technology
The preset of WeChat was the instant messaging part and an underlying social network where you can keep your friends up to date on your current affairs by posting ‘your moments’. In general these are photo albums of recent events that is dependent on the people you added. On top of that the ways in which you can add people is quite fascinating. WeChat has more capabilities of adding people than I have ever seen before. Not only can you add your phone contacts and scan a QR-code to friend people, but it is also possible to add your facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Or to find people in your area that also use the app. But most surprisingly you can also shake your phone and this will bring you into contact with other people that are shaking their phone at that time will inside the app. In all honesty this was the first time that I have ever seen such a feature to add people to your social network.