WeChat mini programs are becoming a lot more important for Tencent
WeChat users spent US$115 billion through mini programs in 2019
WeChat is already China’s most popular social platform, but Tencent seems eager to make even more money from its ubiquitous app. It plans to achieve this with a not-so-secret weapon: Mini programs.
Mini Programs: The apps inside apps that make WeChat so powerful
At the 2020 WeChat Open Class Pro event in Guangzhou on Thursday, Tencent announced that its users spent 800 billion yuan (US$115 billion) through its various mini programs in 2019, a 160% increase from the previous year.
WeChat, the app that does everything
“At WeChat, we used to focus on perfecting every feature we launched. Today, we are more focused on how to prioritize and dedicate our efforts to creating value for users and customers,” WeChat head Allen Zhang told developers over video at the conference.
WeChat is already an indispensable part of life in China. It connects everyone, keeping people in touch with family, friends and colleagues. Even before mini programs, the app had a wide range of nifty features. With WeChat Pay, it’s become one of the country's two largest mobile payment apps.
During the conference, which is Tencent’s traditional event for announcing big changes to the app, the company also said that WeChat reached 1.15 billion monthly active users last September. That’s about half of what Facebook has, but WeChat still primarily relies on one country for most of its users.