How Farfetch Leverages Its WeChat Strategy

Farfetch founder and CEO José Neves reiterated the importance of WeChat for luxury brands doing businesses in China at the recent New York Times International Luxury Conference in Hong Kong. “WeChat is the platform for the luxury industry,” said Neves in a conversation with Vanessa Friedman, Times’ Fashion Director. “What Instagram is in the West is what WeChat is in China, and [WeChat] is more powerful.” The handy mobile messaging app, now has over 1 billion active users, not only has social sharing functions that allows brands to reach Chinese consumers in an intimate and innovative way, but incorporates several commercial features such as WeChat Pay and mini-programs that conveniently allows brands to move their marketing efforts to the next level: selling products. Neves’ bet on WeChat to power Farfetch’s growth in China is in line with experts’ prediction on the mobile commerce trend in the country. According to a report by Worldpay, a leading payment company, mobile shopping in China is projected to grow at 12 percent (compound annual growth rate) over the next four years. By 2022, China will become the biggest mobile commerce market across the globe, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom, the same report estimated. Nonetheless, getting on WeChat with the right mindset is just the beginning to lure Chinese shoppers to spend. As the app has become a must for almost all luxury brands and retailers in China today, the question is how to stand out among rivals who also attempt to reach the same group of buyers. Farfetch’s answer to it is gamification, an effective method to draw the attention of the country’s younger generation, namely millennials and Gen-Z, who is digital native and obsessed with mobile games. [video width="288" height="640" mp4="http://jingdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/24.mp4"][/video] This video demonstrates Farfetch's Singles' Day WeChat game. During the past Singles’ Day shopping festival, Farfetch unveiled a sophisticated WeChat mobile game that lets readers test their knowledge of global luxury brands. The game asked six questions related to luxury brands. Players who answered them all correctly or shared the game with WeChat friends could receive one Farfetch fashion point. Once they collect three Farfetch fashion points, users would have the chance to win a special Singles’ Day gift package: A Chloe Drew Bijou handbag, and a coupon worth £500 or £110. For the upcoming month-long gifting season starting from Thanksgiving (Black Friday) to Christmas, Farfetch pushed out another WeChat game last week. It built a virtual gift launcher that users can click and discover different luxury gift ideas. If they see an item they are interested in purchasing, they can directly click on it and land on Farfetch’s e-commerce page to place the order.

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How Farfetch Leverages Its WeChat Strategy