Can WeChat Survive in the US Market?

August 15, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

There’s a massive market in China for new technology, and as such, many United States firms are looking to make inroads in this major population hub. It’s not going all that well, as these companies are finding substantial competition and a very difficult entry process waiting. However, some Chinese companies are likewise making moves on the United States. One big example of this is WeChat, who’s been having some troubles getting started.

WeChat, China’s second-biggest mobile payments platform and major social media operation, has over 900 million monthly active users, or somewhere around three times the population of the United States. It’s host to a horde of celebrities and brands using it for official purposes, and the app itself is used for just about everything from calling a cab to paying for it.

With that level of success under its belt, jumping to new markets was a natural progression, and it opened up an office in the US to go after that massive social media market. Though there were already messaging apps in the US, none had really proven a runaway success. WeChat has been available in the United States since the new office opened back in 2013, and it’s popularity is dubious at best.

This is a pattern reflected in other countries; Tencent brought in a soccer great—Lionel Messi—to promote its brand, yet even in soccer-heavy countries like Brazil, India and Indonesia, the promotions fell flat. Chinese media agency Xinhua noted that most WeChat users abroad are just ethnic Chinese, with the lone exception of Malaysia.

Some here might blame the entrenched market; most have a favorite messaging tool all their friends are already using, and are using it accordingly. While there wasn’t a runaway favorite, it might have been assuming too much to think that WeChat could become that runaway favorite, unifying a fractured market under a completely different banner. Plus, many of WeChat’s functions—like mobile payments—may not be particularly available outside of China.

The combination of limited functionality and a crowded market is likely hurting Tencent’s expansion plans. The better a job it can do differentiating itself from the rest of the market, the better off its fate in the US—and beyond—will be.