Perfect Diary and Chando eye WeChat's revolutionary 'Gifting' feature

What happened As Chinese New Year approaches, WeChat’s latest feature is set to reshape gifting in China’s fashion, beauty, and lifestyle segments, potentially mirroring the success of the platform’s earlier winner, the “red envelope” function. WeChat recently announced the pilot testing of its new “Gifting” function within WeChat Mini Shops. The feature streamlines the process of gift-giving by eliminating the need for app-switching, address confirmations, or style and size inquiries. Users can now select, purchase, and send gifts seamlessly within the WeChat ecosystem. For brands, the gifting function leverages social connections for word-of-mouth marketing, increasing exposure and driving new customer acquisitions. Personalized gift packaging and customizable messages further enhance the perceived value of products offered under this service. Currently optimized for apparel and footwear categories, the feature enables recipients to specify details like color, size, and delivery address without requiring pre-confirmation from the sender. This protects privacy while empowering the recipient with greater choice. With major shopping holidays like Spring Festival, Valentine’s Day, and International Women’s Day on the horizon, analysts expect a significant retail boost. Given the current price cap of 10,000 RMB ($1,364) per gift, domestic brands in the footwear, apparel, and accessories categories stand to benefit most. The Jing Take According to iiMedia Research, China’s gifting economy was projected to have reached 1.38 trillion RMB ($188 billion) in 2024, and is forecast to expand to 1.62 trillion RMB ($221 billion) by 2027. Driven by technological innovation and consumption upgrades, the digital retail sector will continue to expand, fueling growth in the gifting market. WeChat’s gifting function addresses the key pain points of traditional gifting methods, such as the time-consuming process of addressing inquiries and logistical hassles. The integration of social commerce into daily gifting habits signals a potential channel transformation, offering brands new opportunities for growth. Beauty brands like Perfect Diary, Chando, and Evidens de Beauté have been quick to adopt the feature. For example, Chando’s WeChat Mini Shop prominently showcases a “Gifting Zone,” which includes user-friendly guides for using the gifting feature, and where products are labeled as gift boxes. One such gift box has reportedly racked up sales of over 20,000 units. Luxury brands have yet to fully embrace WeChat’s gifting feature, but the potential is undeniable. With WeChat boasting 1.38 billion monthly active users, the gifting function presents an immense market opportunity. Compared to traditional e-commerce platforms, WeChat Mini Shops offer advantages such as lower return rates, reduced marketing costs, and a customer base less sensitive to pricing. As social gifting becomes an embedded habit, fashion and beauty brands are well positioned to capitalize on this transformative shift in consumer behavior. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

Why WeChat’s new ‘Gifting’ service will transform holiday retail

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Why WeChat’s new ‘Gifting’ service will transform holiday retail