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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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. Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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.] Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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. Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

follow Official Accounts to keep
informed Get information 41.1% Complement their lifestyle 36.9% Learn 13.7% Other 8.3% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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. Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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) Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

WeChat users have donated through
the WeChat giving platform. 95% of those users made donations less than 100RMB (~US$16). < 100RMB 95% > 100RMB 5% Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

WeChat Social WeChat Users 3rd
Party Developers Official Account Platform Media, Finance, Social Causes Economy, Tech, Laws Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

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 Presentation and translations by Grata.co Data courtesy Tencent Tech

Presentation and translations by Grata.co
Data courtesy Tencent Tech 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.

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