WeChat is a voice and text communications app released in 2011 by Chinese investment holding company Tencent Holdings Limited, available for a wide variety of operating systems. As of Q1 2015, WeChat has 549m active monthly users with 1.1bn registered accounts worldwide. 100m of users are based outside of China. In 2014, WeChat restricted the number of friends a single user could have to 5,000.
Key WeChat stats
- WeChat currently has 549m active monthly users (Source: Statista)
- It has 1.1bn registered users worldwide (Source: Technode)
- 100m of its users are outside of China (Source: The next Web)
- WeChat users are restricted to 5,000 friends (Source: China Internet Watch)
- The app has sparked a range of security risks in many of its markets (Source: The Guardian)
- In ranks second, behind What’sApp among the top social messaging apps (Source: Canalys)
- Chinese Android users spent an average 209min per month on WeChat, compared to 106min on iOS (Source: Tech in Asia)
- 46% of Chinese users have made WeChat their number one app (Source: Technode)
- 80% of Chinese users follow an official account (Source: Technode)
- 90% of its users are between 18-36 years old with a 1.8:1 ratio male to female (Source: Technode)
- $15.3bn in mobile data consumption was driven by Chinese WeChat users in 2013 (Source: Technode)
- WeChat contributes to $1.76bn in lifestyle spending in China (Source: Technode)
- Tencent revenue grew by 24% in Q1 2015 (Source: Bloomberg)
- WeChat is estimated to be worth $100bn (Source: Forbes)
In China, WeChat also functions as a popular promotional platform for brands, creatives and marketers. But as the app’s footprint increased, there have been concerns the app may pose a risk to national security.
Whilst its biggest rival WhatsApp has a stronger presence in Western markets, WeChat dominates in China and ranks second in an overview of top social messaging apps.
A study by TNS highlighted the average time Chinese Android smartphone users spent using top five social messaging apps. WeChat users generally spent 209min per month using the app, making for 7% of total time spent using their phones monthly. This compares to 106min, but a 10% total on iOS.
Similar research from the China Press and Publication Academy in April 2015, found that the average Chinese adult read on WeChat twice a day for over 40min.
Celebrating four years of WeChat, Tencent launched a series of key figures for the Chinese market in January 2015. TechNode summarised the findings and discovered that 46% of Chinese survey respondents have made WeChat their number one app, whilst 86% were driven to interact more with their friends due to WeChat.
60% of WeChat users reported opening the app more than 10 times daily with 40% seeking out content through official accounts and groups. Of the 80% of users following official accounts, 41% do so to get information, signifying WeChat’s status as a leading social media platform in China. WeChat is an important channel for both entrepreneurs (with 30% having an account) and businesses (53% of official accounts accept WeChat payments).
The summary also included stats on gender and age groups with 36% of WeChat users being female and 64% male, a ratio of 1:1.8. The average age of users is 26 years. 90% of users are below 36. However, only 2% are younger than 18.
When it comes to occupation, WeChat users are predominantly working within private enterprise (32%), followed by the self-employed (28%) and students (20%). Unsurprisingly, both private enterprises and the self-employed are using WeChat for promotional purposes.
$15.3bn in mobile data consumption was driven by Chinese WeChat users in 2013, making up a total 4.24% of all mobile data consumption in China.
Tencent claims that WeChat contributes to $1.76bn in lifestyle spending with the entertainment sector ranking the highest at 54% and a spend of $943m in 2013. 53% of small to medium businesses doing business on WeChat either earn revenue directly through the app or linked interfaces, with the majority of those earning revenues generation below $16k per year. 47% reported not earning any revenues.
When it comes to generating cash, WeChat leads among its competitors, according to Chao Wang, analyst at Nomura International in Hong Kong. It sells in-app services and has integrated online payment features to encourage shoppers to pay through the app. Tencent confirmed a 24% rise in revenue in Q1 2015 with net income growing 50% to $954m. The strong results may in part be due to WeChat announcing in-app advertising earlier this year. BMW and Coca Cola were the first brands to test the service. Tencent further said it planned to make WeChat one of the first messaging apps available on the Apple Watch. As of 2015, WeChat is estimated to be worth $100bn should it be able to monetise.
