Messaging applications can fulfill different requirements these days. We can play games, chat, date, process electronic payments with apps like WeChatt, Whatsapp, iMessage, Messenger, Tinder, Apple Pay etc. There are popular messaging apps in the world, with Facebook leading in the US, WhatsApp leading in the UK, Europe, and Hong Kong, LINE in Taiwan and Japan, South Korea mainly using Kakao communication, while WeChat occupying China.
Why is WeChat popular in China?
WeChat is used in China mainly for the following purposes :
1. Messaging
Like other chat applications, WeChat provides location sharing, audio messaging, video chat, emoticons and more. In addition, WeChat also features instant translation, red envelopes and more. This provides users with a great deal of convenience to a certain extent.
2. Social Networking
On Facebook, users can scroll through posts posted by friends, including links, text, photos, and videos, and post comments. WeChat also the same feature as Facebookbook where users can see the various content posted by friend and friend’s circle. You can also comment on those content. In addition to this, WeChat only shows the comments between friends protecting your privacy from strangers.
WeChat has also a feature to find nearby friends. The users can find and connect friends near them by clicking on “Discover”. This feature is similar to Tinder, which is a popular dating app today.
3. Online Payment
More than 800 million people in China use WeChat to make payment, which has even forced cities around the world to adopt this technology to cater to the needs of Chinese tourists. The popularity of WeChat payment in China is so high that most street performers, food stall chefs and, taxi drivers use WeChat for payment. WeChat payment is basically the same concept as Google Pay, Venmo and Apple Pay.
4. Third-party applets
WeChat can also be used as a device platform. In early 2018, it launched the WeChat applet. The user can directly enter the store of the product through the applet to perform a series of operations such as ordering and shopping. Starbucks, KFC, Vipshop, Meituan, and other companies have already joined the applet. These applets are basically the same as the actual APP. The use of these applications can also eliminate a series of cumbersome operations for users to download the APP, which greatly facilitates the user’s use.
Read Also: Why is Huawei banned in the United States?
There is no other app for smartphone users in China that integrates multiple WeChat’s functions like messaging, social networking, and online payment into a single platform. To a certain extent, WeChat has become a popular commercial tool there, and users can use WeChat for various requirements. To sum up, we can say that WeChat is popular in China because it provides the features of social networking and messaging as well as online payment in a single app.
