INSIGHTS FROM THE 2019 WECHAT PRO CONFERENCE: BOOSTING MINI APPS AND PERSONALIZING RED ENVELOPES - CORESIGHT RESEARCH

February 1, 2019

Insights from the 2019 WeChat Pro Conference: Boosting Mini Apps
and Personalizing Red Envelopes

The WeChat Pro Conference is an annual event organized by Tencent to share experience and
ideas for digital startups, entrepreneurs, investors, students and academics. At this year’s
conference, Allen Zhang, the creator of WeChat, made an unusual appearance, speaking at
length about his design philosophy and future WeChat trends. The Coresight Research team
offers these insights:
   • WeChat says it did not intend to be a disrupter: The evolution occurred naturally.
   • WeChat mini apps empower partner companies to more easily reach WeChat users, and
     the company is looking to improve functions such as search, evaluation and reminder.
   • New features to send Chinese New Year hong bao (red envelopes) will enable greater
     personalization.

The WeChat Pro Conference 2019 focused on past success, future strategies, new ideas and
entrepreneurship. Allen Zhang (Zhang Xiaolong in Chinese) made an unusual appearance and
spoke at length about a number of key WeChat themes. Zhang is Senior Executive Vice
President and President of Weixin Group at Tencent Holdings — and is the creator of WeChat.
Zhang talked about WeChat’s design philosophy, not following short-term trends but
continually looking to enhance WeChat features and functionality. He explained what he
believes good design truly means by quoting “10 Timeless Commandment for Good Design”
from Dieter Rams, a famous German industrial designer and retired academic. Rams is part of
the functionalist school of industrial design who believes in "less but better" design intended to
create a timeless quality.

Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder, Coresight Research                                                 1
deborahweinswig@coresight.com US: 917.655.6790 HK: 852.6119.1779 CN: 86.186.1420.3016
Copyright © 2019 Coresight Research. All rights reserved.

February 1, 2019

Allen Zhang, Senior Executive Vice President and President of Weixin Group, Tencent Holdings
Source: Tencent PR

Expect More from New Features
WeChat is developing more advanced features, such as a new “good stuff” feature, which will
recommend products for individual users based on ratings of the user’s WeChat friends.

WeChat Mini Apps: On a Mission
Zhang explained WeChat mini apps are designed to help connect brick-and-mortar businesses
with WeChat users. These are some of the things WeChat will focus on to further develop mini
app capabilities:
   • Direct access using a search function. For example, users can find a travel mini app by
     searching flight information.
   • A complete “evaluation” system so users can use reviews to find the most useful mini
     app.
   • A “Strong Reminder” feature that can send notifications for situations such as when the
     long line at a bank or restaurant shortens.

New Features for Chinese New Year Giving
Everyone gives away money in small red envelopes called hong bao at the Chinese New Year,
and WeChat is launching new features to help users personalize this feature. Traditionally, hong
bao are delivered in person, handed directly to the recipient, but in recent years this has gone
digital: WeChat says about ¥3 billion was sent by WeChat in 2015 — but that figure climbed to
¥46 billion in just two years.
This is a lot more convenient — but also less personal. So, WeChat is working to make digital
giving more personalized by introducing new features. For example, WeChat will add a feature
that lets users add personalized facial expressions in the digital hong bao, and companies
sending them to employees can customize the envelope with the company logo or design of its
choosing. Another feature even allows the person sending the money to see how the recipient
spends it.

Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder, Coresight Research                                                        2
deborahweinswig@coresight.com US: 917.655.6790 HK: 852.6119.1779 CN: 86.186.1420.3016
Copyright © 2019 Coresight Research. All rights reserved.

February 1, 2019

Relative Hongbao Card
Source: Coresight Research

WeChat Is “To Be Continued”
The theme of the exhibition was “Unfinished City” — meaning WeChat realizes it must
continually invest in innovation and continue to build out new capabilities; it will never be
“finished.”

Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder, Coresight Research                                                 3
deborahweinswig@coresight.com US: 917.655.6790 HK: 852.6119.1779 CN: 86.186.1420.3016
Copyright © 2019 Coresight Research. All rights reserved.

February 1, 2019

Deborah Weinswig, CPA
CEO and Founder
Coresight Research
New York: 917.655.6790
Hong Kong: 852.6119.1779
China: 86.186.1420.3016
deborahweinswig@coresight.com

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Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder, Coresight Research                                                 4
deborahweinswig@coresight.com US: 917.655.6790 HK: 852.6119.1779 CN: 86.186.1420.3016
Copyright © 2019 Coresight Research. All rights reserved.