How WeChat handles O2O commerce(2)

Is WeChat a good traffic driver for traditional businesses?

Although the app and its 350 million users would seem to have great potential for offline businesses, many businesses say this is not necessarily the case. They said WeChat is good at bringing existing customers online, not the other way around. Cai Cansheng, who manages the membership program at 7 Days Inn, said the hotel chain uses its public account to stay in touch with customers after they check out. Courier service SF Express, retailer Shopin and Lenovo Group all use WeChat to connect with their customers instead of to attract new ones. In other words, WeChat is better at enhancing user loyalty and generating repeated purchases rather than luring in new customers. Part of this has to do with what public accounts offer: pre-order options, payment, discounts and customer reviews.

The central bank recently banned payments using quick-response (QR) codes. How has this affected O2O?

O2O relies on this technology, which involves using a smartphone or tablet to scan a code that carries some information because it is more convenient than other technologies. WeChat has tried to work around the restriction. Shopin's WeChat pilot store, which opened on April 25 in the eastern city of Hangzhou, allows customers to scan a code on actual products and they then appear in virtual shopping carts. The rest of the transaction – payment and delivery – is just like online shopping. But this could be hard for others to copy. Shopin has linked its physical and online inventories, something few retailers can do. It took years for Shopin to negotiate with manufacturers and franchisers. It is also unclear how successful the retailer's experiment has been.

What are some examples of businesses using WeChat for O2O?

The hotel chain 7-day Inn connects WeChat public account with its membership management system. In six months, it has attracted 1.35 million members. It receives more than 5,000 reservations from WeChat, and more than 70 percent of them are second-time customers. SF Express' WeChat account allows customers to fill out addresses for packages to be delivered and place orders. It plans to start WeChat payment in June. Lenovo uses the app to manage customers and send out notifications about products and promotions. It also allows customers to browse for goods at physical stores and pay later with WeChat.