Tencent’s WeChat doubled commerce on mini programs in 2020

The messaging service, which was set up in 2011 as Tencent’s answer to WhatsApp, has become intrinsic to the lives of over a billion people and is the backbone of the Chinese tech giant’s sprawling internet empire that spans social media, gaming and financial services. — Bloomberg

Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat recorded more than US$240bil (RM970.56bil) of online transactions on its mini programs last year, after more shoppers turned to the platform to buy daily necessities such as fresh fruit and vegetables during the pandemic.

The Chinese super-app had more than 400 million daily average users for its mini programs last year, with the transaction value per user climbing 67%, executives said at WeChat’s 10th anniversary developer conference. Gross merchandise value from mini programs more than doubled from 2019, when it booked over 800bil yuan (RM500.52bil) in transactions.