Asia Tech 101 – WeChat Basics

You’re here to learn about WeChat. You may have heard of WeChat in passing – perhaps from an Asian friend? Or you were curious what that green logo and speech bubble was for? Or maybe the word has been thrown around at work. Whatever the reason you’re here, what you do have is a sneaking suspicious that if you don’t know what WeChat is in 2018, then you are WAY behind.

What is WeChat:

The multi-purpose app has been around since 2011 and services over a billion users. Developed by Chinese company, Tencent, its original Chinese name was Weixin 微信, means “micro-messaging”. It took on the name “WeChat” in 2012 when it went global.

Who uses WeChat:

WeChat is used all over the world but 90% of its users are in China. 3.5 million Chinese tourists visit the US every year, bringing their WeChats with them, and Asian Americans are also strong users.

What are its features:

One of the most complex apps on the market, WeChat offers messaging, mobile-payments, GPS sharing, sharing content, and integrates with popular Social Media platforms like Facebook (in the US) and Tencent QQ (in China). It also has its own social feed called “Moments”. Both businesses and individuals can create accounts, gain followers and communicate with them en masse.

WeChat has a robust QR scan function that is utilized by almost every business account on the app.

In China, its “City Services” feature is used for booking appointments, paying utilities and other city-related topics.

“Enterprise WeChat” is a work-level function that offers employers a way to group their employees, communicate, and other business-related micro-functions.

Since you can link your WeChat with your bank account, mobile-payments through the app are incredibly popular. Money can trade hands amongst friends, for services, for goods, and for paying bills.

Update: As of the New Year 2019, WeChat has added an “Instagram Story-like” video feature called Time Capsule to compete with Snap, Instagram, TikTok and other social apps.

For many, it’s an all-in-one app. Note: not all features available in China are available in the US, thus taking a deeper dive, or tapping an agency’s expertise, are essential when expanding into WeChat.

How do businesses and marketers use it:

Taking advantage of its multitude of functions, companies have done everything – Lucky Red Envelope giveaways, QR code product placement, creating mini-apps within the app and more.

Because of its business accounts, Enterprise functions and mobile-payments, companies can open micro-stores.

Like other Social Platforms, marketers tap popular influencers (WeChat Official Accounts) to spread their messaging.

Who are its competitors:

For Mobile Payment, WeChat’s biggest competitor is Alipay, another China-lead app for mobile and online payments. Other competitors in different sectors are Skype, WhatsApp, and Line.

In the US, WeChat top competitors are monoliths like Facebook and Paypal. It has struggled to break into the US market’s general populace.

How does it compare:

PROS:

Functionality and popularity is the name of the game. Over a billion users? Unlimited ways to connect with your followers? And it’s free. Yes, please.

CONS:

Unlike other Social Platforms who can blast their followers all day long, WeChat has advertisement restrictions and only allow WeChat Official Account Users 2 advertisements per day. This hasn’t stopped businesses from cashing in though. With a solid strategy, this con can be turned into a pro.

Where is it going:

WeChat continues to launch new functions that attract more and more users and capital. There doesn’t seem to be any slowing.

If you want to crack into the China market in China or the Asian American market here, a WeChat campaign is essential for success.

Written by XiaoHwa Sydney Ng
Strategy, Admerasia

Why Asian Americans are an Exciting Customer Group for Financial Management

On a fall weekday night in an artsy district of Long Island City, New York, a group of well-dressed young Asians walked into the sales room of GALERIE, a new luxury condominium located right across the street from MoMa PS1. Their tour of the building blueprint was guided by Ting Ko, an experienced bilingual Chinese American real estate broker. After the tour, the visitors and Ting friended each other on WeChat, a hugely popular Chinese social media app, to continue the sales conversation online. “We’ve got a lot of interests from Asian American buyers. This is a new generation of buyers that is investment-savvy yet values lifestyle and quality. Their confidence and sophistication are very impressive,” Ting summarized.

This is true. We’ve seen numerous headlines about how Asian buyers snap up pricy homes in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Asian Americans, on average, are indeed buying more expensive homes and paying a higher percentage of down payment than other customer groups in the U.S. Financially stable and investment savvy, Asian Americans are indeed an exciting customer group for luxury properties. What other industry should not miss this group? Financial management.
This customer group has some strong and unique financial characteristics.

1. Young
Generally in the U.S. Baby Boomers and older generations hold the most wealth, but interestingly, Asian Americans’ wealth is more in the hands of the 20s-to-40s demographics.

Close to 70% of Asian Americans are born in Asia where private wealth has seen an explosive increase in the past few decades. As a result, we’ve seen an influx of self-funded Asian international students, tourists and investors coming to the U.S., especially Chinese. Due to the One Child Policy, most Millennials and Gen Z Chinese American immigrants are the only heir to their families’ assets accumulated through generations. Just imagine a wealth pyramid, but flip it upside down.

2. Inherent savers
Perhaps it’s genetic? 86% of Asian Americans hold a savings account, compared to 76% of the general population, and their average balances are much higher ($63,800 vs. $40,100). So when financial hardships strike, Asians are more confident and prepared to handle it – over 60% believe they could maintain their current lifestyle for a year or more if their household lost all its regular monthly income, versus 27% of the general population.

Asians on average save more than their general population counterparts.

One particular saving purpose for Asian Americans is kids’ education. Even though college tuition fees are at historical high, close to half of Chinese American and 33% of Asian Indian parents still intend to contribute at least three quarters or full college expenses for their kids, compared to 27% of general population. And they act on it – majority of young parents have already started to contribute to college saving account before their kids turn 5. Chinese American families’ rank amongst the highest savings, way above general population ($29,219 vs. $19,124).

3. Avid and prudent investors
Asian Americans don’t just over-index by general population by 1.3 times in real estate investment. They are also more inclined to own individual stocks, corporate and municipal bonds and various types of annuities.

They are a research-oriented and well-informed customer group, keeping up with happenings in the financial market, both locally and abroad, and tend to use analyst reports when making investment decisions. At the same time, Asian Americans demonstrate a higher propensity to consume financial information from less traditional sources, such as social media, and rather place significant trust in family and friends for financial advice.

Aside from gathering and digesting a great deal of financial information, Asian Americans also demand control on their own finances. Being intimately familiar with the companies or stocks they invest in helps boost their sense of security.

4. Early adopters of digital financial management
Over-indexing in internet and smartphone ownership and usage, Asian Americans are changing how they bank growing more open to exploring and using digital tools for their financial needs such as mobile banking.

Such behavior is also driven by Asia’s blossoming digital wealth management.. In addition to the prevalence of mobile payment such as WeChat Pay and Kakao Pay, the surge of digital investment services like Alibaba’s Yu’E Bao are shaping people’s views and expectations on financial management in Asia, which drive the digital transformation of some of the most established financial institutions. For instance, Citibank in Korea has reduced its physical branches to 44 from 133 in 2017, and plans to double the size of its wealth management business in Korea in the next few years. “The way people are measuring the accessibility of their bank is changing. It’s a completely different game now,” said Brendan Carney, Citibank Korea Inc.’s consumer banking head.

Curious to know more about how to engage this customer group? Drop us a call.

Written by Selina Guo
Planning Director, Admerasia

Sources: Asian Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence, Nielsen, 2018; Significant, Sophisticated, and Savvy: The Asian American Consumer, Nielsen 2013; Wealth management in an era of robots, regulation, and new money, McKinsey, 2018; Chinese American High-Net-Worth Investors, CTBC, 2015; College Saving Study, MassMutual, 2017; Asian American Financial Experience, Prudential, 2016; Citigroup Shifts to Wealth Management in Hyper-Digital South Korea, Bloomberg, 2018

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: Mobile Payment

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption in Asia.

SOFTWARE-BASED MOBILE PAYMENT AS AN ENGAGEMENT TOOL FOR BRANDS

In the U.S., Apple had to convince retailers to update their payment system and adopt Apple Pay. Retailers didn’t like it. The case in Asia is much simpler – mobile payment platforms like Alipay, WeChat Pay or LINE Pay run primarily on software, not hardware. This simple distinction is the key to everything from accelerating the spread of payment transactions to unlocking deep customer interactions1.

In-Store Payment: Imagine you walked into a McDonald’s in Shanghai. To buy a meal, consumers simply pull up a QR code from WeChat or Alipay that’s connected to their credit or debit card. Once the cashier scans the code, that’s it — no further action is needed. The transaction is instant.

If you used WeChat, after the payment completes, you are offered a chance to follow McDonald’s official social account. Mobile payment in Asia has evolved from being a simple transaction tool to a way to increase sales, collect data and enhance customer engagement2.

Can’t Be Convenience: Accustomed to the convenience of mobile payment, 80% of Chinese consumers still prefer to use mobile payment when they travel or live overseas15. That same behavior also applies to recent immigrants from South Korea and Japan. The mobile-first mindset has driven Asian Americans to use mobile shopping, payment platforms and mobile banking at a higher frequency than the general market3.

Don’t stop here. We’ve broken down Asian Innovation and Disruption into more Key Industries: Automobile, Info & Communication Tech, E-Commerce, New Retail, Smart Home Tech, E-Sports and Entertainment, and beyond. Click here to download and read the entire report.

Written by Selina Guo
Planning Director, Admerasia

1The Washington Post, The Incredibly Brilliant Way People are Now Buying Things in Asia, 2016
2Prnewswire, WeChat Pay Duplicates Domestic Lifestyle Overseas, 2018
3Nielsen, Asian American Women: Digitally Fluent With an Intercultural Mindset, 2017

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: e-Commerce

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption in Asia.

ASIA, DOMINATING IN GLOBAL E-COMMERCE

From restaurant orders, to laundry pick-up, to live lobster–the proliferation and convenience of e-commerce in many Asian cities has made “leaving the apartment” a choice. If you have a craving and an internet connection, many services and consumer goods can be delivered to your door in an hour or less.

Asia is Growing FAST: In 2017, Asia accounted for close to 60% of global e-commerce sales. By 2020, Asia’s e-commerce market is predicted to be twice the size of Western Europe and North America combined1. E-commerce characteristics vary in different Asian countries, and are affected by the local infrastructure and consumer demand.

Online Grocery Shopping: South Korea is the absolute world leader of online grocery shopping – e-commerce accounted for almost 20% of its total grocery sales, far ahead of any other country2.

Retail Shopping: In China, 2017 Singles’ Day, an online shopping frenzy on November 11th, has generated sales bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined3.

Though Singles’ Day started as an event in China, it is now making inroads in the U.S., as Chinese Americans embrace the shopping holiday. Mainstream retailers have started harnessing the opportunity by launching Singles’ Day promotions, and it is only a matter of time before Singles’ Day is a part of American shopping calendar.

Don’t stop here. We’ve broken down Asian Innovation and Disruption into more Key Industries: Automobile, Info & Communication Tech, Mobile Payment, New Retail, Smart Home Tech, E-Sports and Entertainment, and beyond. Click here to download and read the entire report.

Written by Selina Guo
Planning Director, Admerasia

1IPC, State of e-commerce: global outlook 2016-21
2World Economic Forum, 2017
3Forbes, Singles’ Day Has Eclipsed Cyber Monday And Black Friday, 2017

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: Smart Home

 

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption of technology and business in Asia. Visit the archives of previous posts here.

ASIA IS THE BIGGEST ADOPTER OF SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY

Digital technology hasn’t just transformed the way people shop, but also the way people live. The global smart home market is expected to reach an estimated $107 billion by 2023.1 Asia is projected to see the highest growth because of increasing urbanization, rising standards of living, and government investment in the building of smart cities.

 

Pre-Installed Smart Homes: In South Korea, most new residential buildings have smart home systems pre-installed. You won’t see light switches in these ultra-modern apartments, instead, there are touchscreens in every room. These integrated systems aren’t just for lights–they control temperature, digital locks, cameras, air purifiers, smart TVs, gas lines, energy reporting and even elevator requests.

Samsung and LG lead global smart appliance sales
Photo credit: LG

Smart Drones: A growing trend is the utilization of drones as a part of the smart home security system. These security drones can fly whenever unusual activities are detected, inside or outdoors. Chinese brand DJI is dominating the global drone industry, and capturing 50% of the market share for drones purchased in the U.S. across all price points.2

Automated Toilets: In fact, there’s an area, rather intimate, that has also been elevated to a whole different level by innovators in Asia. It’s the toilet. In Japan, the smart toilets installed in the hotels create interesting experiences for travelers. It is, according to Toto, the world’s largest toilet brand, “an element of Japanese culture that is difficult to explain in words”. In practical terms, that means a motion-sensing toilet seat that lifts automatically, a stream of warm water sprayed at one’s undercarriage, and a gentle, warm breeze to dry everything off. For the past 5 years, Japanese smart toilets have become a shopping phenomenon in Asia, now you can easily spot them at Asian American homes.

For Asian Americans, the idea of living in a modern smart home is a natural part of their tech-forward lifestyles. Take the smart home speaker as an example. Asian Americans have the highest ownership of Amazon Alexa.3

Written by Selina Guo

Planning Director, Admerasia

Smart Home is not the only industry disrupted by Asian innovation. There are eight more! Download the link at https://www.admerasia.com to read the entire report.

 

1NY Mag, We’re Already Living in the Smart-Home Future, 2017

2Techcrunch; prnewswire, Skylogic Research Report Unveils Drone Industry Market Share Figures, 2017

3thinknowresearch, OK Google How Are Multicultural Consumers Adopting Smart Speaker Technology in the US, 2018

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: New Retail

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption of technology and business in Asia. Visit the archives of previous posts here.

WORLD’S FIRST CASHLESS STORE? SORRY JEFF, IT’S NOT AMAZON GO

Retailers worldwide are facing challenges imposed by burgeoning e-commerce giants. But a new approach is emerging in Asia. The question of either-or is being pushed aside in favor of “New Retail”, a model that merges the best of e-commerce and in-store experience.

Alibaba Leads The Charge: Alibaba is leading the wave of New Retail experiments. In 2017 it launched HEMA, a chain of cashless supermarkets. Much like at Amazon Go, which opened in early 2018, shoppers use their mobile phones to pay for store items. But what HEMA offers is a true omni-channel consumer experience – you can buy groceries, eat on-site with instantly prepared fresh seafood, and even have your groceries and cooked food delivered to your home in 30 minutes, as every HEMA store doubles as a distribution center.1

In HEMA, consumers can buy and eat fresh seafood that is instantly prepared for you by chefs in the store
Photo Credit: Alibaba

Automated Test-Driving: In addition, even the most traditional offline retail experiences, like test-driving a car, are being revolutionized as part of the New Retail concept. Instead of visiting one dealer at a time and facing pressure from a salesman, Alibaba has rolled out a line of “Auto Vending Machines” that let customers browse the makes and models inside of an App. They choose the car they want to test drive, pick it up from an unmanned vending machine, and drive it for up to three days.1

Consumers order a test drive online and pick up the car from Alibaba’s Auto Vending Machine
Photo Credit: Alibaba

3-D printed teas: Even Starbucks opened a Premium Reserve Roastery in Shanghai last year, which is being billed as among the most advanced digital locations for the coffee giant anywhere in the world. Armed with immersive 3-D experiences for costumers via their cell-phones and a 3-D printed tea bar that allows patrons to explore new recipes and flavors, Starbucks shows it knows a thing or two about courting the digitally savvy Chinese customer.

American retailers can take inspiration from Asia’s “New Retail” and embrace the evolution of in-store digital technology to create seamless consumer experiences.

Written by Selina Guo

Planning Director, Admerasia

 

New Retail is not the only industry disrupted by Asian innovation. There are eight more! Download the link at https://www.admerasia.com to read the entire report.

Footnotes:

1 Quartz, The future of retail is happening right now in China, 2018

2  Starbucks Newsroom, Starbucks Opens State-of-the-Art Premium Reserve Roastery in Shanghai

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: Automobile

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption in Asia.

MOVE OVER, TESLA. ASIA HOLDS THE KEYS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

Asia is the world’s largest automobile market, primarily driven by China. China is not only leading in overall consumption but is also ahead of the game in “New Energy Vehicles”.

Where to Charge: As of December 2017, there are about 20,000 EV charging locations in the United States. China has 200,0001.

Having plenty of charging stations is key to increasing consumer appetite for EVs, and it apparently has helped sales. China is now the largest EV market in the world. In 2016, half of the global EV sales were generated in China, compared to 17% in the U.S. Meanwhile, Chinese OEMs manufactured 45% of the world’s EVs2. The state of play for EV varies by country, but China has outperformed in both demand and supply dimensions.

The Competition is Growing: Global auto giants like General Motors and Renault-Nissan have significantly increased their investment in China to advance their R&D and production capabilities for EVs. By 2021, every model launched by Nissan’s premium brand, Infiniti, in China will be either an all-electric or “e-Power” hybrid3.

The prevalence of EVs in Asia has influenced the car purchasing behaviors of Asian Americans. While counting for 6% of America’s population, Asian Americans contributed to 28% of sales of Nissan Leaf in 20164.

Don’t stop here. We’ve broken down Asian Innovation and Disruption into more Key Industries: Info & Communication Tech, E-Commerce, Mobile Payment, New Retail, Smart Home Tech, E-Sports and Entertainment, and beyond. Click here to download and read the entire report. 

Written by Selina Guo
Planning Director, Admerasia

1Alternative Fuels Data Center, 2017
2McKinsey, China’s electric-vehicle market plugs in, 2017
3Business Insider, Nissan’s Premium Brand Infiniti Looks to Dethrone Tesla in China, 2018
4Strategic Vision, Annual Auto Sales in the US by Ethnicity, 2017

5 Principles For Engaging Asian American Customers

Keep up!

Asian Americans are early adopters of technology. To grasp their consumption behaviors, brands need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economic, societal and demographic changes that shape Asian Americans’ profiles and the way they spend.

Don’t stereotype

For brands to truly resonate with Asian Americans without falling back on stereotypes, it is critical to take a deep dive into their nuanced identities and behavioral drivers to create authentic stories

Continuous engagement

Greetings on Lunar New Year or Diwali are not enough. Brands need to develop continuous engagement that delivers value throughout the year.

Think social

Besides the mainstream social platforms, targeting bicultural Asian Americans requires brands to dig deep in the Asian social and digital platforms like WeChat to unlock unique and highly targeted engagement opportunities.

Think mainstream

Especially for today’s Total Market approach, it is critical to integrate Asian American segment considerations throughout the strategic process, instead of a rigid adaptation of general market materials.

Written by Selina Guo

Planning Director, Admerasia

Read the entire report on the 8 industries disrupted by Asian Innovation.  Download the link at https://www.admerasia.com to read the entire report.

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: ICT Info & Communication Tech

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption in Asia.

MEET ASIA’S SUPER APPS: WECHAT, LINE, KAKAOTALK

Millennials and Gen Z in Asia are mobile-first generations, and have given rise to the Super App: multi-purpose, all-in-one platforms like WeChat, LINE and KaKaoTalk.

Users can send instant messages, share social updates, play mobile games, read news and content from brands or influencers, and use the built-in Mobile Wallet to pay for almost everything – from utility bills to a cup of freshly squeezed juice from a street vendor– without ever leaving the App.

Brands Find a Home in Super Apps: Because of the high user stickiness, Super Apps have become crucial consumer engagement platforms for brands. LINE, the Super App that is hugely popular in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand is famous for its cute emoticon family. LINE collaborated with Toyota to customize branded emoticons, not just for social chatting but also for retail sales. WeChat, China’s superstar, offers WeChat Moment Ads which are similar to Facebook sponsored posts. In addition, brands targeting Chinese consumers utilize the platform to publish content or collaborate with influencers to create advertorial content.

In-Language Support Matters: For Asian Americans, penetration of in-language Super Apps is very high. Take WeChat as example. About 80% of Chinese Americans are WeChat users. 65% of them are Millennials and Gen Z1. WeChat is a highly targeted platform for brands in the U.S. to engage with Chinese American consumers.

Don’t stop here. We’ve broken down Asian Innovation and Disruption into more Key Industries: Automobile, E-Commerce, Mobile Payment, New Retail, Smart Home Tech, E-Sports and Entertainment, and beyond. Click here to download and read the entire report. 

Written by Selina Guo
Planning Director, Admerasia

1Tencent US, WeChat User Report, 2017

Innovation and Disruption in Asia: Entertainment

 

This post is part of an ongoing series on Innovation and Disruption of technology and business in Asia. Visit the archives of previous posts here.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ASIANS!

When it comes to entertainment in film, music, and television, as well as distribution and market size, North America is still inarguably the global leader. But the economic growth in Asia has fueled the formation of its own global entertainment trends sparking a cross-culture exchange that sees Hollywood catering to the wants of the Asian market, as well as importing Asian entertainment for domestic audiences.

 

Rise of Animation: One example is how Asian animation culture has conquered the world. Of the global markets for Japanese animation export—the US represents the second largest behind only China. Recognizing the demand, Netflix has green-lit production on over 30 anime series for their platform.

Figure: Global box office revenues in 2015 ($ Billions) Photo credit: WSJ

Asian Box Offices Have Money: On the other hand, since international box office revenue is now more than twice as large as U.S. domestic revenue, the economic incentive for Hollywood studios to cater to the preferences of international audiences is larger than ever, and Asian markets are their priority. Three of the top five international box office markets for Hollywood are in Asia – China, Japan and India.1

Photo Credit: Warner Bros

Asian Representation in Hollywood: In America’s domestic market, we also see a growing presence of Asian Americans in mainstream entertainment, including Ugly Delicious hosted by Korean American chef David Chang, and the highly anticipated RomCon Crazy Rich Asians, the first Asian-majority cast movie produced by a major Hollywood studio in 25 years.

Written by Selina Guo

Planning Director, Admerasia

Entertainment is not the only industry disrupted by Asian innovation. There are eight more! Download the link at https://www.admerasia.com to read the entire report.

Footnotes:

1 WSJ, Hollywood’s Biggest Misses Are Hits Overseas, 2017