1. 2017 WECHAT USER BEHAVIOR REPORT
TENCENT PENGUIN INTELLIGENCE
CONSUMER SURVEY PLATFORM
TRANSLATION: CHINA TECH INSIGHTS TEAM
2. KEY STATISTICS FOR WECHAT
898 MILLION USERS
MONTH ACTIVE USERS Q4 2016
10 MILLION OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS*
*LAST OFFICIAL NUMBER (REAL NUMBER ALMOST CERTAINLY MUCH MORE)
200,000 WECHAT DEVELOPERS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
5. WECHAT USER AGE DISTRIBUTION
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
(CAICT) STUDY 2016CHINACHANNEL.CO
2016
2015
2014
18-25 26-35 36-50 51-60 ABOVE 60BELOW 18
60%
40%
20%
0%
WECHAT USAGE TAKES OFF ONCE USERS
ENTER THE WORKFORCE. IT'S NOT AN APP
THAT'S HEAVILY USED BY TEENS. THIS
TREND IS INCREASING. TEENS PREFER TO
USE QQ, MOMO OR THE MYRIAD OF LIVE-
STREAM AND SHORT VIDEO APPS
AVAILABLE IN THE CHINESE MARKET.
WECHAT IS CONTINUING TO MAKE GAINS
INTO THE MIDDLE AGE AND SENIOR AGE
GROUPS. GROUPS IN GENERAL THAT WE
CAN EXPECT TO HAVE HIGHER AVERAGE
DISPOSABLE INCOME AND ARE MORE
DIFFICULT TO REACH ONLINE.
6. AVERAGE NUMBER OF WECHAT
CONTACTS PER USER
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (CAICT) STUDY 2016 CHINACHANNEL.CO
2016
2015
2014
194
128
82
150 IS THE DUNBAR NUMBER.
THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF
INDIVIDUALS WITH WHOM
HUMANS CAN MAINTAIN
STABLE RELATIONSHIPS.
7. NUMBER OF WECHAT CONTACTS
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGYCHINACHANNEL.CO
2014
37.30%
22.50%
37.00%
12.20%
21.3%
23.6%
27.1% 27.7%
9.4%
17.5%
28.0%
44.4%
1~50 51~100 101~200 200+
2015
2016
CLEAR FALLING
TREND
CLEAR RISING
TREND
8. NUMBER OF NEW CONTACTS ADDED EVERY MONTH
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGYCHINACHANNEL.CO
TOTAL
46 + YEARS OLD
4.9% 3.5%
13.8%
46.5%
31.4%
3.8%
1.2%
8.0%
43.8% 43.2%
ABOVE 20 11~20 5~10 BELOW 5 NONE
OVER 3 QUARTERS OF WECHAT USERS
ADD 5 OR LESS CONTACTS PER MONTH
9. NEW WECHAT CONTACTS
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGYCHINACHANNEL.CO
3.75%
6.04%
7.38%
20.97%
57.22%
OTHERS
SERVICE PROVIDERS (E.G. REALTORS)
STRANGERS (E.G. ONLINE GAMING PALS)
FRIENDS & FAMILY
WORK-RELATED
BY FAR THE MOST NEW
CONTACTS ARE NOW
WORK RELATED
10. TIME SPENT IN WECHAT 2015 VS. 2016
2016 AVERAGE 66 MINS PER DAY
DATA: QUEST MOBILE (DEC 2016)CHINACHANNEL.CO
6.5%
13.9%
22.4%
20.9%
14.4%
16.3%
3.4%
7.5%
14.2%
21.0%
18.1%
33.9%
< 10 MIN 10~30 MIN 30 MIN~1 HOUR 1-2 HOURS 2-4 HOURS 4 HOURS+
2015 2016 4HRS+ MORE
THAN DOUBLED
USERS ARE
SPENDING
MORE &
MORE TIME
IN WECHAT
11. MOMENTS PREFERENCES
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORMCHINACHANNEL.CO
WHAT CONTENT DO SHARE ON MOMENTS?
WHAT CONTENT DO YOU PREFER TO SEE ON MOMENTS?
62.7%
33.8% 33.0% 32.8%
16.6% 16.2%
66.8%
39.0%
23.6%
41.6%
24.5%
14.7%
PERSONAL LIFE
RECORDS
CONTENT SHARINGS
OF INTEREST
WORK-RELATED
CONTENT
EXPRESSION OF
PERSONAL OPINIONS
TRENDING NEWS PRODUCTS OR
BRANDS DISPLAY
USERS PREFER TO SEE
AND SHARE THEIR LIVES
USERS DON’T LIKE ADS
12. WORK RELATED ACTIONS
COMPLETED THROUGH WECHAT
CHINACHANNEL.CO
51.8%
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
17.6%
4.7%
10.9%
13.7%
33.1%
38.5%
49.5%
I DON'T WORK ON WECHAT
GO THROUGH APPROVAL PROCESS
DO MARKETING & USER MANAGEMENT
HAVE MEETINGS & CON-CALLS
TRANSFER FILES
MAKE TRANSACTIONS
MAKE NOTIFICATIONS
COORDINATE & ARRANGE TASKS
83% USE WECHAT FOR WORK!
13. INDIVIDUAL PROPRIETORS USING WECHAT
CHINACHANNEL.CO
70.8%
10.2%
2.5%
10.9%
14.8%
32.4%
37.7%
I DON'T WORK ON WECHAT
APPROVAL PROCESSES
MARKETING
MEETINGS & CON-CALLS
TRANSFER FILES
MAKE NOTIFICATIONS
ARRANGE TASKS
MAKE TRANSACTIONS
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
WECHAT PAY VERY
POPULAR WITH
SMALL BUSINESSES
45.7%
14. COMMUNICATION TOOLS USED FOR DAILY WORK
WECHAT IS NUMBER 1
CHINACHANNEL.CO
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
87.7%
59.5%
39.5%
22.6%
9.7%
WECHAT PHONES, TEXT
MESSAGES & FAX
QQ E-MAIL OTHER INTERNAL IM
FOR COMPANY
BIG DIFFERENCE
IN EMAIL USE
BETWEEN TIER 1
& TIER 3 CITIES
TOTAL
1ST TIER CITIES
3RD TIER CITIES AND BELOW
WECHAT POPULAR
FROM TIER 1 DOWN
TO LOWER TIERS
15. 37.3%
9.2%
17.7%
32.4%
34.2%
42.6%
PASSIVELY INVITED TO GROUPS
ENTERTAINMENT-ORIENTED (E.G. FAN GROUPS)
INFO SHARING (E.G. ONLINE COURSES)
LEISURE AND LIFE (E.G. SCHOOL COLLEAGUES)
PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
CORPORATE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
REASONS TO JOIN A GROUP CHAT OF 100+ PEOPLE
TOP 2 REASONS ARE WORK RELATED
CHINACHANNEL.CO
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
16. HOW IS WECHAT HELPFUL FOR WORK?
CHINACHANNEL.CO
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
20.8%
33.1%
34.5%
39.7%
80.9%
MAKES IT EASIER TO GET HIGH QUALITY
INFORMATION
MAKES IT EASIER TO MANAGE PERSONAL
NETWORKS
PROVIDES A CONVENIENT MOBILE OFFICE
TOOL
MAKES SOCIAL PROMOTION EASIER
OFFERS A USEFUL COMMUNICATION TOOL
19. 30.8%
19.5%
13.6% 13.1%
8.0% 7.3% 6.3%
4.4%
16.9%
24.6%
18.9%
15.9%
6.1%
10.5%
50 RMB OR LESS 50~200 RMB 200~500 RMB 500~1K RMB 1K~3K RMB 3K~5K RMB ABOVE RMB 5K
AMOUNTS SPENT MONTHLY
THROUGH WECHAT PAY
CHINACHANNEL.CO
2015
2016
HUGE DROP
IN LIGHT USE
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
SOLID GAINS IN MID
RANGE AMOUNTS
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
BELOW 500 500 - 1000 1000 - 5000 ABOVE 5000
Chart Title
20. BELOW 500 500 - 1000 1000 - 5000 ABOVE 5000
Chart TitleAMOUNTS SPENT MONTHLY
THROUGH WECHAT PAY
CHINACHANNEL.CO
2015
2016
BIG DROP IN
LIGHT USE
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
SOLID GAINS IN MID
& HIGH USAGE
21. REASONS FOR USING MOBILE PAYMENTS
FOR OFFLINE TRANSACTIONS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
58.4%
2.9%
5.3%
15.8%
17.3%
23.4%
44.5%
OTHER
I CAN ACCUMULATE LOYALTY POINTS
DEPENDS ON THE TRANSACTION SIZE
I CAN ENJOY DISCOUNTS
THERE'S NO EXTRA FEES
I DON'T BRING CASH WITH ME
IT'S EASY
IT'S FAST
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
NEARLY HALF OF
USERS CLAIMED THEY
DO NOT CARRY CASH
WITH THEM!
55.2%
22. SITUATIONS FOR WECHAT PAY USE
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGYCHINACHANNEL.CO
2.8%
4.2%
4.3%
8.0%
13.2%
14.2%
20.0%
21.6%
26.0%
28.9%
HOSPITALS
BEAUTY & FITNESS SALONS
PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS
ENTERTAINMENT & LEISURE
TRANSPORTATION & TRAVEL
UTILITIES FEES
MALLS
RESTAURANTS & FOOD
ONLINE SHOPPING
SUPERMARKETS & CONVENIENCE STORES
23. MINI PROGRAMS
A NEW ERA FOR WECHAT
CHINACHANNEL.CO
NB: WECHAT TEAM HAVE MADE
VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
TO MINI PROGRAMS SINCE THIS
DATA WAS COLLECTED. THESE
STATISTICS MAY BE
UNREFLECTIVE OF THE
CURRENT SITUATION.
25. REASONS TO USE MINI PROGRAMS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
12.15%
12.96%
21.81%
31.72%
51.86%
USE IT OUT OF HABIT (E.G. CALENDARS,
BOOKKEEPING)
RECOMMENDED BY OFFLINE MERCHANTS OR
STORES
USE MINI PROGRAMS TO REPLACE APPS FOR
LACK OF STORAGE
USE IT OUT OF CURIOSITY WHEN OTHERS
ARE USING IT
SEARCH UNDER MINI PROGRAMS IN WECHAT
FOR CERTAIN FUNCTIONS
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
26. REASONS FOR NOT USING MINI PROGRAMS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
9.87%
10.60%
18.40%
24.27%
24.51%
57.73%
WORRIED ABOUT TOO MUCH DATA CONSUMPTION ON
SMARTPHONES
BAD USER EXPERIENCE
THEY DON'T HAVE FUNCTIONS I NEED
MORE USED TO USING A TRADITIONAL APP
HARD TO GET ACCESS TO IT
NOT CLEAR ABOUT WHAT MINI PROGRAMS CAN DO
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
FAMILIARITY WITH
THE NEW FEATURE
NEEDS TO BE BUILT
OVER TIME
27. OCCASIONS FOR USE OF WECHAT CARD & OFFERS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
18.1%
20.6%
23.8%
41.3%
42.5%
TO USE E-CARD TO REPLACE
PHYSICAL CARDS
I'M NOT SURE HOW IT WORKED
WHEN I USED IT
TO GET A DIGITAL COUPON FROM
FRIENDS
TO CLAIM A DIGITAL MEMBER CARD
OR COUPON
TO GET AN E-MEMBERSHIP CARD
WHEN SHOPPING OFFLINE
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
WECHAT
MCDONALDS
COUPON OFFER
28. PAYING FOR CONTENT
CHINA’S NEW TREND
CHINACHANNEL.CO
NB: THIS SECTION MAKES
REFERENCE TO THE WECHAT TIPPING
FEATURE WHICH WAS BLOCKED BY
APPLE ON IOS DEVICES JUST A FEW
DAYS PREVIOUSLY
29. 43.1%
20.0%
15.8%
9.1%
4.8%
3.0%
4.1%
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR CONTENT AND
INFORMATION ON WECHAT (MONTHLY)
CHINACHANNEL.CO
51-100 RMB
NOT WILLING
TO PAY
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY
PLATFORM
10-50 RMB
101-200 RMB
200 – 500 RMB
500+ RMB
LESS THAN 10 RMB
57% OF USERS
WILLING TO PAY
FOR CONTENT &
INFORMATION!
30. PREFERED METHOD OF PAYING
FOR CONTENT ON WECHAT
CHINACHANNEL.CO
HOUSEHOLD INCOME LESS THAN 10K RMB
OVERALL
HOUSEHOLD INCOME MORE THAN 20K RMB
32.8%
28.3%
21.5%
11.4%
35.1%
28.6%
22.0%
12.0%
40.9%
26.6% 24.7%
11.8%
REWARD POST AFTER
READING
TIME BASED
SUBSCRIPTION
CUSTOMIZED PAID
CONTENT (E.G. PAID
Q&A)
CHARGE BY PIECE
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
31. WECHAT TIP JAR FEATURE
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (CAICT) STUDY 2016CHINACHANNEL.CO
37%
34%
12%
6%
4%
8%
ONLY TIPPED ONCE OR TWICE
1-10 RMB
10-50 RMB
50-100 RMB
100 RMB+
OTHERS
10.7%
USERS WHO
HAVE TIPPED
AVERAGE MONTHLY TIPPING AMOUNT
TIPPING WAS RECENTLY BANNED BY APPLE ON IOS, STILL AVAILABLE ON ANDROID DEVICES
32. CONTENT THAT USERS
HAVE VOLUNTARILY TIPPED
CROSS PLATFORM (NOT JUST WECHAT)
CHINACHANNEL.CO
18%
14%
17.30%
20.50%
21.20%
27.30%
28.40%
58.60%
OTHERS
KUAIBAO/TOUTIAO
WECHAT FREE STICKERS
VIDEOS
SONGS
ARTICLES ON WEIBO
ARTICLES ON ZHIHU COLUMNS
ARTICLES ON WECHAT OA
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
33. ISSUES THAT CONTENT PROVIDERS FACE
INCREASED COMPETITION NO.1 PROBLERM
CHINACHANNEL.CO
4.2%
26.3%
38.3%
47.6%
47.8%
75.5%
I HAVEN'T MET ANY OF THESE DIFFICULTIES
PV GROWTH IS LOWER THAN FOLLOWER GROWTH
STAGNANT FOLLWER GROWTH
CONTENT IS ALL SIMILAR
FOLLOWER ENGAGEMENT IS LOW
IT'S HARDER TO ACQUIRE TRAFFIC AND PV GROWTH
DATA: TENCENT PENGUIN
INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PLATFORM
35. 59.6%
29.4%
9.9%
1.1%
16.7%
5.5% 1.8%
LESS THAN 10K 10K~100K 100K~1M OVER 1M
NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS ON
WECHAT OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
2015
2016
THOSE WITH LOW NUMBER OF
FOLLOWERS SHOOTS UP REFLECTING
LARGE NUMBER OF NEW OFFICIAL
ACCOUNTS
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
76.1%
36. TYPES OF OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS
THAT USERS FOLLOW
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (CAICT) STUDY 2016CHINACHANNEL.CO
36.1%
17.7%
14.0%
17.3%
41.1%
20.3%
9.9%
NEWS AND INFORMATION (NEWS, BLOGGERS)
BUSINESS (F&B, BRANDS, LEISURE)
PERSONAL SERVICE (BANKING, DELIVERY)
PUBLIC SERVICES (PUBLIC UTILITIES, TRANSPORT)
INTERESTS & HOBBIES (SPORT, BEAUTY)
OCCUPATIONAL RELATED (SUPPLIERS, EMPLOYERS)
OTHERS
37. REVENUE COMING FROM
WECHAT OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS
CHINACHANNEL.CO
DATA: CHINA ACADEMY OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
I DON'T SELL
PRODUCTS THROUGH
WECHAT OA
LESS THAN 10%
10%~30%
30%~50%
MORE THAN 50%
OTHER
19.7%
6.2%
1.8%
2.5%
30.1%
69.9%
NEARLY 1/3 OF WECHAT
OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS ARE
DOING SOME FORM OF
ECOMMERCE!
38. MATTHEW BRENNAN
CO-FOUNDER OF CHINA CHANNEL
MATTHEW IS A KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND TRAINING HOST ON THE TOPIC OF WECHAT. REGULARLY QUOTED IN
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA (FORBES, BLOOMBERG, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, BBC), HIS COMPANY ORGANIZES
CHINA’S LARGEST WECHAT MARKETING CONFERENCE SERIES FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES. MATTHEW
WORKS PRIMARILY WITH INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES TO HELP FORM AND IMPLEMENT THEIR WECHAT
PLATFORM STRATEGY. HE HOLDS 12+ YEARS ON THE GROUND ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE IN
MAINLAND CHINA. HIS BOOK ‘BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH WECHAT’ IS DUE FOR RELEASE LATER
THIS YEAR.
EMAIL: MATTBRENNAN@CHINACHANNEL.CO
LINKEDIN: HTTPS://CN.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/MATTHEW-BRENNAN
THIS VERSION OF THE REPORT WAS PREPARED BY:
39. 2017 WECHAT USER BEHAVIOR REPORT
TENCENT PENGUIN INTELLIGENCE
CONSUMER SURVEY PLATFORM
TRANSLATION: CHINA TECH INSIGHTS TEAM