WeChat can now send gifts, under 10,000 yuan

Author | Wang Xiaojuan

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

Sending a "WeChat red envelope" can deliver the first cup of milk tea of autumn or prepare a Christmas gift for a loved one. A quietly launched feature on WeChat has stirred the ever-changing e-commerce industry.

On December 18, WeChat's small store announced the official launch of the "gift-giving" feature in a gray-scale test. The announcement stated that, except for the two categories of jewelry and education and training, other categories in WeChat's small store, with original prices not exceeding 10,000 yuan, will default to support the "gift-giving" feature.

Specifically, for products in the current WeChat small store that meet the rules, the "support gift-giving" entry will be publicly displayed on the product detail page. Users only need to click "Send to a friend," pull up the "Confirm Gift" page, select a style, and browse the amount.

When selecting a friend on the "gift-giving" page and completing the payment, the gift will be automatically sent. For the recipient, they can fill in the delivery address after clicking to accept the gift.

The whole process is as simple and fun as sending a WeChat red envelope, and industry insiders see this as WeChat's new attempt at social e-commerce through "WeChat Red Envelope 2.0."

The timing of this feature's launch is also worth pondering. With the upcoming Christmas, New Year's Day, and the Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day, this feature is expected to spread quickly among users, boosted by the holidays.

Since the beginning of this year, WeChat's ecosystem has made several attempts in the e-commerce field. In August, WeChat's video account small store upgraded to WeChat small store, connecting a series of functional components within the WeChat ecosystem, which is seen as WeChat preparing for significant moves in the e-commerce sector.

Tencent President Liu Chiping stated in the second-quarter earnings call that Tencent has adjusted the positioning of live-streaming e-commerce to make it more like WeChat e-commerce.

However, throughout the year, WeChat has not made many moves in the e-commerce field. Compared to Pinduoduo, Taobao, and JD.com, which are fiercely competing on "low prices" and "refund only," there are doubts in the market about whether WeChat e-commerce can stir up waves again.

Indeed, Tencent has made many attempts in the e-commerce field, from the early Paipai.com to the now-defunct Xiao'e Pinpin in 2022, but the survival of its own projects has not been optimistic. Instead, it has relied on investments to form an e-commerce empire that includes Pinduoduo and JD.com.

Especially in the early explosive growth of Pinduoduo, it was inseparable from the support provided by WeChat, quickly accumulating a large number of users through social fission via WeChat channels.

The social network formed by WeChat is a treasure trove, but apart from the simple and monotonous "cutting a knife," what other possibilities can e-commerce have under the social model? This is a question that WeChat needs to focus on.

Last year, the e-commerce of video accounts grew from nothing to a GMV of 100 billion in just one year. Although this year the video account has not further disclosed its GMV data, insiders close to WeChat have indicated that GMV is highly valued internally this year.

With the gray-scale testing of the "gift-giving" feature, it is evident that WeChat has new ideas in the e-commerce field.

In the current e-commerce situation, to strengthen e-commerce, one must find ways to combine the advantages of its own platform and form a relatively stable development model For WeChat, its biggest advantage lies in the traffic pool composed of 1.382 billion users. WeChat's social viral capability allows white-label products to emerge under the premise of "good price, not expensive," rather than purely competing on low prices; for brand owners, with the introduction of WeChat red envelope-like gameplay, there are also more new attempts in marketing.

CITIC Construction Investment Securities pointed out in its research report that WeChat continuously cultivates users' shopping habits within its ecosystem, relying on its mature social network, which has significant strategic importance for unlocking the GMV space of WeChat e-commerce.

In 2015, it was precisely through the collaboration with the Spring Festival Gala on the "Shake" red envelope feature that WeChat achieved over 10 billion shakes that night, transforming WeChat Pay from a payment tool that people were reluctant to use into one that surpassed Alipay.

CITIC Construction Investment Securities noted that the gray test of the "gift-giving" feature in WeChat Mini Stores aims to replicate the breakthrough of WeChat red envelopes in the e-commerce market, and it is also expected to shift the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem from infrastructure improvement to operation, with significant cooperation space remaining for future collaboration with Taobao/Tmall.

Including WeChat e-commerce SaaS service provider Weimob, which has also surged significantly. Today, Weimob's stock price once rose over 50%. A relevant person in charge of Weimob told Wall Street Journal that as one of Tencent's important ecological partners, Weimob's mini-program is the first to connect with WeChat Mini Stores, supporting merchants to participate in the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem, and related products are currently being integrated.

It can be expected that the upcoming "gift-giving" feature of WeChat will have more attempts in gameplay, marketing, and other aspects, forming a trend. WeChat e-commerce can also, based on this, carve out a gameplay that is quite different from the current mainstream e-commerce.

The e-commerce landscape will also be stirred up with the entry of WeChat's "gift-giving" feature, creating tremendous waves