Apple’s online store now offers iPhones, Macs and other products via a mini-program on China’s WeChat platform, which has a massive 1.2 billion users.
Shoppers can buy the latest iPhone 14 lineup, as well as Macs, iPads and other products. Apple’s entire product lineup is available on WeChat via a mini-program.
Mini-programs on WeChat are effectively apps or add-ons within WeChat. Apple’s mini-program includes the full lineup of products. Orders via WeChat are eligible for free shipping, and some users can pay for three-hour delivery.
Macs, iPhones and other Apple products are now available on China’s WeChat app
Apple already offers its products in China via online and physical stores and third-party resellers like JD.com, meaning WeChat is its another retail channel. Some, but not all, Apple services are available on WeChat, too, including the company’s trade-in program, Tencent said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
China is among Apple’s most important markets by revenue. In the first quarter, the iPhone held nearly a 20 percent share of the Chinese smartphone market.
Apple has fifty retail stores in Greater China but plans to expand its retail business in the 1.4 billion people country and the world’s second-largest economy.
Why WeChat matters
WeChat is often called a “super app” because it’s the dominant app in China that people use for virtually everything, be it messaging, games, payments, entertainment, shopping and more.
Produced by Tencent Holdings and launched in January 2011, WeChat is available in 17 languages across iOS, macOS, Android, HarmonyOS and Windows platforms. “WeChat” is used internationally. Within China, WeChat is better known as “Weixin.”