WeChat trends to expect in 2016: virtual reality, more ads, global expansion of Tencent app’s wallet function
China’s most popular mobile messaging app offers a range of booking and buying services to leave rival WhatsApp trailing in its wake, but it isn’t resting on its laurels just yet
Unlike Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Tencent’s WeChat has expanded in recent years to include cab-hailing, food-ordering and myriad other services to bolster its revenue stream. People can even use it to book a doctor’s appointment or pay for their groceries.
It has 650 million users to rank as China’s most popular mobile messaging app, but it still falls short of WhatsApp’s 900 million active users. However that gap may be erased, or WeChat even crowned the new king of global mobile messaging, in 2016 in light of what pundits believe it has in store.
Pundits generally expect it to expand its mobile wallet services globally next year, see faster growth in advertising revenue, and move into virtual reality.
This integration of new services has propelled the app’s growth. Its number of active users jumped 9 per cent a quarter on average this year, and research firm Nomura estimates its revenue at US$$7 per user. In contrast, WhatsApp charges just US$1 a year for use of its service.
READ MORE: Armies of Dragons on WeChat? China’s Tencent teams up with Hong Kong-based Animoca to tap Asia’s 760 million-plus gamers
The app is owned by China’s gaming and social giant Tencent, which recently invested in Kakao Bank, one of South Korea’s first internet banks. This is a sign it may be looking to expand its mobile payments services like WeChat Wallet to other Asian communities, according to Marie Sun, senior equity analyst at research firm Morningstar.