Apple Opens Store on WeChat

No Apple action on Threads yet but Reuters reports some social media platform news:

Tencent’s WeChat said on Tuesday that iPhone maker Apple had opened a store on its social media platform, marking an expansion of the U.S. firm’s retail channels in the world’s second largest economy. The announcement by WeChat, China’s dominant messaging app which also provides e-commerce, livestreaming and payment services, said users would be able to buy Apple products including iPhones, iPads and Macs from the store.

China’s smartphone sales in the first quarter fell 5% year on year, marking the lowest first-quarter sales figure for the country since 2014, according to data from Counterpoint Research. However, during the quarter Apple recorded a 19.9% share of the Chinese smartphone market — its biggest since 2014 — as it increased sales by 6% year-on-year in a declining market, the research firm said.

WeChat’s “everything app” dominance in China has no equivalent here.

Update: Noel Philips, who reviews airlines on YouTube, ran into a problem trying to fly into Shanghai, because they wanted him to process his transit visa using WeChat — but Philips theretofore hadn’t even heard of WeChat. It really is an everything app.

★ Wednesday, 12 July 2023