TechCrunch
WeChat continues to advance its shopping ambitions as the social networking app turns 10 years old. The Chinese messenger facilitated 1.6 trillion yuan (close to $250 billion) in annual transactions through its “mini programs,” third-party services that run on the super app that allow users to buy clothes, order food, hail taxis and more.
That is double the value of transactions on WeChat’s mini programs in 2019, the networking giant announced at its annual conference for business partners and ecosystem developers, which normally takes place in its home city of Guangzhou in southern China but was moved online this year due to the pandemic.
To compare, e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo, Alibaba’s archrival, saw total transactions of $214.7 billion in the third quarter.
Interested in learning more about the accelerated shift towards eCommerce?
COVID-19 has disrupted consumer spending habits. As the landscape changes, the rise in eCommerce has accelerated the shift of sales volume away from brick-and-mortar.
As the payments industry looks to adapt to this ‘new normal’, TSG has prepared an infographic covering recent trends and explores how certain payments industry players, such as gateways, are critical to the shift to eCommerce.