Since the Edward Snowden revelations back in 2013 the popularity of messaging apps has gone from strength to strength especially since most now include end to end encryption. Recently however some of the larger players have started to make changes which could alter the way we interact with our mobiles forever. In the western cultures the messaging app is predominately used for messaging, sharing photos, audio/video communication and more recently sending friend’s money. Some have also started to add Artificial Intelligence/chatbots like Facebook Messenger and Google Allo to make them stickier.
However in places like China and Japan (WeChat /Line) messaging apps additionally allow you to play video games, shop (eCommerce sites) and use digital wallets which negates your need to leave the app ecosystem at all. These apps are so popular that WeChat boasts 963 million monthly active users and 600 million active WeChat mobile payment users. This may be only half of the active users stated by facebook globally however WeChat is little known outside of China until now.
In March 2017 WeChat announced It was looking to launch an office in the U.K. and another European country, alongside its existing presence in Italy.
In April 2017 a London-based FinTech firm (Tramonex) based out of Smithfield, said it had entered into an agreement to integrate its payments infrastructure with WeChat Pay to take advantage of the soaring numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the UK.
This month BNP Paribas announced it was introducing WeChat Pay to retailers in France and subsequently across Europe, providing an opportunity for merchants to streamline the shopping experience for the 7.4 million Chinese tourists who visit the continent each year.
On 9th November 2017 Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings (the owner of WeChat) announced it was acquiring a 12 percent stake in the US social media network Snapchat whose investment would enable Tencent to explore cooperation opportunities with the company on mobile games publishing and newsfeed.
Over the last few years very little change has been seen across the social media / eCommerce landscape however this may just be about to all change and I cannot imagine players like Amazon, Alibaba, Facebook etc will take it lying down.