How Super Apps are leveraging
APIs to become tomorrow’s
ecosystems?

76 % 83 %
95 % 98 %
What is the penetration rate of
WeChat in China ?

76 % 83 %
95 % 98 %
What is the penetration rate of
WeChat in China ?

WeChat is the largest community of users and consumers in Asia.
In only 9 years, WeChat has become a key player on the global tech scene:
433 Days
To reach 100 million users
vs. 1,650 days for Facebook
Sources: CAICT, WalkTheChat, Statistica, eMarketer
83%
Penetration rate in its first
domestic market - China
vs. 68% for Facebook
in the US
34%
Of total mobile network
traffic in China
vs. 14% for Facebook
in the US.
22.4M
Jobs WeChat helped
to create in 2018
+2.3M
Mini-programs since
the launch in 2017
vs. 2.1M for App Store
Main social media communities in Q2 2019 ranked by MAU
MAU(Million)

What’s inside the box?

WeChat is leading the “super app revolution” in Asia.
Our phone
VS
3 main ingredients of a Super App:
1. A unique access point
2. Seamlessly integrated ecosystem
3. Its own payment solution
The promise of a Super App is clear:
One tap away from
everything
Super apps mix and match a bunch of seemingly unrelated
services together in one application”
Connie Chan
General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
SUPER APP
SUMMIT
A Chinese one
“

Enabling seamless
experiences by
shortening the
path to services.
• Go to an app store
• Download Mobike’s app
(cross fingers for internet connection)
• Delete apps or content to have more space
• Open Mobike’s app
• Create a user account
• Login
• Add your credit card
• Scan the bike’s QR code
• Enjoy your ride
• Be billed
• Open WeChat
• Launch the mini-program
(or scan a QR code)
• Scan the bike’s QR code
• Enjoy your ride
• Be billed
10 min
Use the service
Mini-programs are a game
changer in WeChat’s mobile
strategy: it is basically an
app-store within an app
which transforms WeChat
into a mobile operating
system.
Mini-programs since the
launch in 2017
vs 2.M apps for App Store
DAU of mini-programs
as of April 2019
10 sec
Use the service
In the West Meanwhile in China

Colombia
US-based but operating
in Africa mostly
Singapore
Indonesia
China
South Africa
India
Japan
Kenya
Spain
Argentina
Brazil
Hong Kong
Dubai
USA
The super-app is a booming model that is not known in the West.
*Not exhaustive list
Super-apps* spread in mobile-first countries.

Service
account
Subscription
account
Mini program

2 services
for
2 purposes
Service accounts
appear as friends and can send
4 push messages per month.
For companies that aim to offer a
wide set of services : customer
service, e-commerce, games, etc.
Subscription accounts
appear in a specific folder and
can send 1 push message per
day.
For companies for which
content is the core service
provided to customers

Standalone
E-Commerce
-
More control over
branding and data
but difficult to
drive traffic
Marketplaces
-
High organic
traffic but
competitive, high
fees and many
requirements
International
Retailers/Brands
Mobile Apps
-
People don’t want to
download brand’s mobile
apps for low-frequency
purchases
Official Websites
-
Official brand websites
take time and money to
maintain and it’s
difficult to drive traffic
Official accounts
-
Service and
subscription
accounts
WeChat Mini-Programs
-
Brands can set up a low-cost,
accessible e-commerce
mino-program store within weeks
and drive traffic by creating
interactive, shareable promotions
WeChat App
-
Selling through
WeChat, China’s
most popular
messaging app with
> 1 billion users

And this channel is used by hundreds of million people
+250 MAU for mini programs
+680 MAU for mini programs
+400 MAU for mini programs

Slow webviewFast mini program
It’s all in the experience.
It’s all in
the experience.

Developers can therefore implement
app-related methods while coding in a web
environment:
WeChat minimizes complexity
for devs to make mini programs
OS-agnostic
User side:
devs can leverage
the potential of
the device by giving
access to
smartphone features
UI guidelines for better coherence in the UX
showTabBar,
showToast,
showModal,
showActionSheet
Access to phone features
getConnectedWifi,
etBluetoothDevices,
startAccelerometer
Methods specific to super app
getUserInfo,
requestPayment,
sendCustomerMessage
WeChat offers an optimized, simplified connection between the mini programs and the
OS. Through custom API, WeChat harmonizes UI and leverages its super app.
WeChat example
of methods for
mini program:

20 years ago,
you had to choose to create a
website, at the risk of cannibalizing
your physical store
Tech through disruption.
10 years ago,
you had to choose to go on mobile,
at the risk of cannibalizing
your website
And tomorrow,
you’ll have to choose to join
a super app, at the risk of
cannibalizing your mobile app
2000s 2010s
2020s

This is the secret of so
many Chinese companies:
sharing their user base and
sharing their traffic to
retain mind share and
relevance”
Connie Chan
Partner at a16z
“
Through APIs, companies
can give external
businesses access to
dedicated functionalities
and assets.
But WeChat goes
beyond that: it shares its
existing user base with
brands and businesses.

Get user identity
transparently
Pay in
one click
Benefit of the performance
from the super app infrastructure

Three main requirements
1
A service with key
value strong enough
to support a galaxy
2
Solid partnerships
with your ecosystems
backbone partners
3
A large user pool
you agree to share.
Becoming a super app

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