China’s all-purpose WeChat app, owned by Tencent Holdings, is doubling down on mini programmes and short video to drive future growth as its user base reaches saturation point.
At the annual event promoting the app’s new functions and strategies on Thursday, a group of middle-ranking Tencent executives who called themselves “WeChat lecturers”, made a joint effort to persuade Chinese users, including content creators and merchants, that the app would remain an important tool for entertainment and business in China with its mini programmes and short videos.was absent from the event.
Tencent also announced it would provide 10 billion yuan worth of subsidies to small merchants over the next three years to encourage them to upgrade their digital infrastructure. Tencent has promoted Channels in a step-by-step approach, giving video content an increasingly prominent position on WeChat. According to the latest data from Tencent, Channels had accumulated 200 million users as of June 2021, but WeChat has not provided updated user numbers since.