You might already know that WeChat is discovering a new feature on its public account: “App Account”. WeChat is ambitious that app account will replace a lot of phone apps someday, but what is it, anyway? Here are our bold prediction about WeChat’s new app account function, and its possible strengths.

What is an App Account?

A app account will be the WeChat public account that provides certain services to WeChat users. WeChat hopes that new feature of public account can function and perform just like a lot of phone apps nowadays, thus replace phone apps.

To WeChat, app account will be another big step forward from being just a social texting app, to an ultimate social & eCommerce platform.

What Will App Account Look Like?

Actually, the early stage of app account already exists in WeChat. In the past a year or two, WeChat has added a lot of functions to itself. If you are a WeChat user and you click “WeChat Wallet”, you can easily purchase movie tickets, make dining reservation and order flight tickets through 3rd party. Using services through WeChat has become quite popular: During the National Day holiday week in 2015, around 70 million USD is spent on WeChat movie tickets, which accounts for 25% of whole movie tickets market. Huge potential could be a main reason for WeChat to launch app account.

“WeChat Wallet”

Other than WeChat Wallet, different business can also add services to its own public account nowadays. For example, if you follow HomeInn’s WeChat account, you can book your hotel room through WeChat. This example will definitely be part of app account’s feature, and we can expect more to come. To put it in an easy way, for a user looking for certain service, one can just follow the brand’s app account, other than spending time and online data downloading the phone app.

HomeInn’s WeChat Public Account

What’s the Concept behind App Account?

The key behind WeChat app account is web apps. Contrary to native apps, web apps are not real applications; they are really websites that look and feel like native applications in many ways, but are not implemented as such.

During the speech on “2016 WeChat Open Class”, Xiaolong Zhang, he Senior Executive Vice President and President of Weixin Group at Tencent gave a perfect example: Every time when you get a new phone, you have to go through the native apps installation process. If app account can do it all, you will never experience that again once you have WeChat.

What Are the Benefits of App Account?

That is what people care about mostly after all. The truth is the adaptation of app account can benefit both the business owners and WeChat users.

If you are a business owner: firstly, congratulations, because you can save a ton from app development and maintenance. Second, WeChat’s huge user group will help your business to grow, and the social features of WeChat will definitely give you better integration.

If you are a user, app account will provide with infinite convenience. As mentioned, kiss redundant native app installation goodbye, since WeChat got you covered. Moreover, the improving WeChat Payment will make the whole purchase simpler. To sum up, app account can save user’s time, money, and more.

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