As the WeChat ecosystem further opened up social networking and e-commerce, the Tencent concept and e-commerce stocks ushered in a wave of fun.

On Friday, the Hong Kong stock Tencent concept, SaaS concept, and A-share e-commerce stocks collectively surged.

As of midday trading, Weimeng Group, the leading e-commerce service provider in the WeChat ecosystem, had surged by more than 16%, Oriental Selection had risen by more than 15%, and Tencent Holdings had risen by more than 3%.

CICC expects that Weimeng Group will benefit from “gift-giving” from WeChat stores, maintain its “outperform the industry” rating, and raise the target price by 56% to HK$2.8.

The A-share internet e-commerce sector surged more than 6%, and many stocks such as Aoki Technology, Beauty and Beauty, Ruo Yu Chen, Huading shares, and Cross-border Connect rose and stopped.

An invention comparable to the “WeChat Red Envelope”

Tencent is once again making efforts in the e-commerce field.

Recently, WeChat quietly launched a new feature — WeChat Small Store “Send Gifts”, and has already entered the grayscale testing phase.

According to its announcement, with the exception of the two major categories of products, jewelry, education and training, WeChat stores in other categories will support the “gift delivery” function by default, as long as the original price does not exceed 0.01 million yuan.

The gift giver can “give it to a friend” after choosing an item at the WeChat store. The recipient will then receive the gift information via WeChat chat, confirm the delivery address, and receive the gift; if not received within 24 hours, a refund will be made.

In response, the industry called the “gift delivery” function of WeChat stores an invention comparable to “WeChat red envelopes” back then.

Its emergence also indicates that the e-commerce ecosystem may usher in major changes.

As a domestic social media giant, WeChat stores have further opened up social networking and e-commerce.

On the other hand, it has also opened up mini-programs, video accounts, and e-commerce to enable public to private domain circulation.

As early as August of this year, Tencent announced that it would upgrade its video store to a WeChat store, and then released a series of incentive policies and actions.

In December, the WeChat store officially launched a grayscale test for the “send a gift” function.

WeChat's “social e-commerce”

This may mark a social “surprise moment” for WeChat e-commerce.

According to Tencent's three-quarter report, as of September 30, 2024, the number of combined monthly active accounts on WeChat and WeChat had reached 1.382 billion, an increase of 3% over the previous year.

In the third quarter, the transaction volume of mini programs exceeded 2 trillion yuan, an increase of more than ten percentage points over the previous year.

It is worth noting that the “WeChat Store” debuted in this Tencent earnings report.

The financial report mentioned that WeChat stores aim to build a unified and trustworthy transaction experience based on the entire WeChat ecosystem, and will continue to deploy AI in products and operations, including marketing services and cloud services.

Source: Tencent's third quarter earnings report

Tencent executives also clearly stated in the financial report that WeChat stores are essential to the entire WeChat e-commerce closed loop and are an important part of Tencent's e-commerce strategic layout.

Tianfeng Securities said that it is optimistic about the gift delivery function of WeChat's small stores, which will significantly speed up the entry of merchants and the development of user spending habits. The optimistic situation may be expected to repeat the story of WeChat red envelopes driving changes in the payment market pattern.

After late December, key holidays are concentrated, and WeChat e-commerce is expected to usher in major catalysis.

Huajin Securities pointed out that in 2024, e-commerce platforms will continue to optimize the compatibility between platform rules and strategic positioning.

WeChat itself has the characteristics of social e-commerce, content e-commerce, and private e-commerce. The new WeChat store function is based on its own social nature, combining it with video accounts to build an internal traffic cycle while continuously attracting external traffic, which is expected to promote WeChat e-commerce to form a complete, closed-loop ecosystem.