WeChat has again announced a transforming feature for their verified account users; WeChat Shop. For WeChat’s official account owners they can can now set a up a shop within their WeChat account application. This handy function can also be complemented with the Retailer Coupon Function
The Wechat Shop provides the following features for online shop management:
- Product upload
- Products management
- Order management
- Product display management
- Customer complain management
Please note that besides needing a verified service account (integrated Wechat payment).
At Digital Jungle we definitely think that this will be a useful feature for brands looking to offer eCommerce services and given the level of integration, brands could even leverage the Wechat API’s to build sophisticated payment and shipping shopping experiences.
Verification
However, not every WeChat user will be allowed to to sell their item through WeChat. Only those who have managed to verify their official account (Note Digital Jungle can help International companies secure WeChat verification with Tencent). Those which make up a brand, that have already been connected with WeChats payments API will be able to open an e-commerce store. This means that merchants such as Adidas, will now be able to sell items to potential WeChat customers without having to necessarily direct them towards places outside the WeChat application.
Wechat Shop gives merchants the platform needed for setting up a shop. Digital Jungle is helping their clients from verification, WeChat Shop setup and customisation through to WeChat payment integration. Once you have your Shop configured and will be able to manage your stocks and monitor the sales amount all through the use of Wechat platform itself.
8 Key Steps
1. Creation of a WeChat Shop account for your brand (Chinese mobile phone number required)
2. Customisation of the Shop according to your preferences
3. Adding of content, product inventory, categories etc.
4. Link the WeChat Shop to your existing online ordering system
5. Set-up of WeChat Pay account and link-up to Chinese bank account (Chinese ID required)
6. Integrate Shop into your WeChat account – can be both Service & Subscription Account
7. Management of the Account & Reporting
8. Promotion of the Shop within the WeChat environment and on your other platforms (Weibo, Website, BBS etc.)
eCommerce Strategy
Now that WeChat is allowing brands to build their own stand alone stores, it may require some brands to reconsider their total Chinese eCommerce strategy. Many brands already have a Tmall and/or JD.com presence and given the costs for maintaining that channel and the lack of control over the brand value/destiny, brands are considering eCommerce options such as having their own branded eCommerce site. With the advent of WeChat Shop, brands may examine where this will sit in the mix. It is a challenging set of considerations and one where we are consulting to a wide range of companies on. Should you wish to understand more about WeChat shop or discuss your Chinese eCommerce strategy then please contact us today.
