Total paying users of Momo live video service and value-added service, without double counting the overlap and including 3.9 million paying users of a Tinder-like app Tantan, were 12.8 million for the second quarter of 2020, compared to 11.8 million for Q2 2019, which included 3.2 million paying users of Tantan.

Tantan has been accelerating the testing of its live video service since the middle of April, and live video service revenues from Tantan were 191.7 million (US$27.1 million) in Q2 2020.

Fake fans and manipulations on China social media

Momo Financial Results

Net revenues decreased by 6.8% year over year to RMB3,868.3 million (US$547.5 million) in Q2 of 2020.

Net income attributable to Momo Inc. decreased to RMB456.4 million (US$64.6 million) in Q2 of 2020 from RMB731.8 million in the same period of 2019.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Momo Inc. (note 1) decreased to RMB669.8 million (US$94.8 million) in Q2 of 2020, from RMB1,242.5 million in the same period of 2019.

Diluted net income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) was RMB2.11 (US$0.30) in Q2 of 2020, compared to RMB3.33 in the same period of 2019. Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS was RMB3.05 (US$0.43) in Q2 of 2020, compared to RMB5.60 in Q2 2019.

For the third quarter of 2020, Momo expects total net revenues to be between RMB3.7 billion to RMB3.8 billion, representing a decrease of 16.9% to 14.6% year over year.

Burberry launched its first luxury social retail store, empowered by WeChat

The total paying users of Momo’s live video service and value-added service, without double counting the overlap and including 4.2 million paying users of another app it acquired earlier Tantan, were 12.8 million for the first quarter of 2020, compared to 14.0 million for Q1 2019, which included 5.0 million paying users of Tantan.

Momo Financial Results in Q1 2020

Total net revenues were RMB3,594.1 million (US$507.6 million) in Q1 2020, a decrease of 3.5% from RMB3,722.9 million in Q1 2019.

Live video service revenues were RMB2,332.0 million (US$329.3 million) in Q1 2020, a decrease of 13% from RMB2,689.4 million during the same period of 2019, as a result of the impact of COVID-19 adversely affecting the sentiment of its paying users, especially among the top of the pyramid paying users.

Total value-added service revenues, mainly including virtual gift revenues and membership subscription revenues, were RMB1,175.8 million (US$166.0 million) in Q1 2020, an increase of 30% from RMB903.8 million in Q1 2019.

The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to the continued growth of the virtual gift business on the Momo application driven by more functions launched and more paying scenarios introduced to enhance the social experience of Momo users, and to a lesser extent, the increase in the membership subscription revenues of Tantan.

Mobile marketing revenues were RMB57.2 million (US$8.1 million) in Q1 2020, a decrease of 29% from RMB80.7 million during the same period of 2019. The decrease in mobile marketing revenues was primarily caused by the decreased demand from its advertising and marketing customers as well as its strategy to underweight the line in terms of resource allocation.

Mobile games revenues were RMB12.7 million (US$1.8 million) in Q1 2020, a decrease of 67% from RMB39.0 million in Q1 2019. The decrease in mobile game revenues was mainly due to the continued decrease in quarterly paying users of mobile games.

Net revenues from Momo segment decreased from RMB3,419.2 million in Q1 2019 to RMB3,202.1 million (US$452.2 million) in Q1 2020, primarily driven by the decrease in net revenues from live video service, partially offset by the increase in net revenues from value-added service.

Net revenues from Tantan segment increased from RMB295.3 million in Q1 2019 to RMB381.7 million (US$53.9 million) in Q1 2020, which was mainly due to the increase in the average revenues per paying user resulting from more features launched.

Cost and expenses

Cost and expenses were RMB3,026.1 million (US$427.4 million) in Q1 2020, a decrease of 10% from RMB3,349.4 million in Q1 2019.

The decrease was primarily attributable to:

• a decrease in share-based compensation expenses due to the related expense from the options granted to Tantan’s founders amount of RMB466.9 million as the related share options vested in Q1 2019 when the necessary performance conditions were satisfied;
• a decrease in revenue sharing with broadcasters related to its live video service. The decrease was partially offset by an increase in marketing and promotional expenses to attract users on Momo and Tantan.

Non-GAAP cost and expenses (note 1) were RMB2,819.2 million (US$398.1 million) in Q1 2020, an increase of 4% from RMB2,719.2 million during the same period of 2019.

Income from operations

Income from operations was RMB594.1 million (US$83.9 million) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB384.4 million during the same period of 2019.

Income from operations of Momo segment was RMB770.3 million (US$108.8 million) in Q1 2020, decreasing from RMB998.6 million in Q1 2019. Loss from operations of Tantan segment was RMB171.9 million (US$24.3 million) in Q1 2020, compared to loss from operations of RMB604.6 million in Q1 2019.

Non-GAAP income from operations (note 1) was RMB801.0 million (US$113.1 million) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB1,014.7 million during the same period of 2019.

Non-GAAP income from operations of Momo segment was RMB903.1 million (US$127.5 million) in Q1 2020, decreasing from RMB1,098.9 million in Q1 2019. Non-GAAP loss from operations of Tantan segment was RMB100.4 million (US$14.2 million) in Q1 2020, compared to non-GAAP loss from operations of RMB77.1 million in Q1 2019.

Income tax expenses

Income tax expenses were RMB162.9 million (US$23.0 million) in Q1 2020, decreasing from RMB163.7 million in Q1 2019.

Net income

Net income was RMB537.7 million (US$75.9 million) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB286.6 million during the same period of 2019.

Net income from Momo segment was RMB707.1 million (US$99.9 million) in Q1 2020, decreasing from RMB893.9 million in Q1 2019. Net loss from Tantan segment was RMB165.1 million (US$23.3 million) in Q1 2020, compared to a net loss of RMB597.7 million in Q1 2019.

Non-GAAP net income (note 1) was RMB735.1 million (US$103.8 million) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB907.5 million during the same period of 2019.

Non-GAAP net income from Momo segment was RMB839.9 million (US$118.6 million) in Q1 2020, decreasing from RMB994.2 million in Q1 2019. Non-GAAP net loss of Tantan segment was RMB103.2 million (US$14.6 million) in Q1 2020, compared to non-GAAP net loss of RMB79.6 million in Q1 2019.

Net income attributable to Momo Inc. was RMB538.9 million (US$76.1 million) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB289.3 million during the same period of 2019.

Non-GAAP net income (note 1) attributable to Momo Inc. was RMB736.3 million (US$104.0 million) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB910.3 million during the same period of 2019.

Diluted net income per ADS was RMB2.46 (US$0.35) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB1.36 in Q1 2019. Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS (note 1) was RMB3.34 (US$0.47) in Q1 2020, compared to RMB4.15 in Q1 2019.

Cash and cash flow

As of March 31, 2020, Momo’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits totaled RMB15,467.2 million (US$2,184.4 million), compared to RMB14,925.3 million as of December 31, 2019. Net cash provided by operating activities in Q1 2020 was RMB543.5 million (US$76.8 million), compared to RMB1,175.9 million in Q1 2019.

For the second quarter of 2020, Momo expects total net revenues to be between RMB3.8 billion to RMB3.9 billion, representing a decrease of 8.5% to 6.1% year over year.

Total paying users of Momo’s live streaming service and value-added service, without double counting the overlap and including 4.5 million paying users of Tantan, were 13.8 million for Q4 2019, compared to 13.0 million for Q4 2018, which included 3.9 million paying users of Tantan.

Momo Highlights for Q4 2019

• Net revenues increased by 22% year over year to RMB4,687.9 million (US$673.4 million)
• Net income attributable to Momo Inc. increased to RMB1,055.9 million (US$151.7 million) from RMB660.8 million in Q4 2018.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Momo increased to RMB1,252.5 million (US$179.9 million), from RMB887.4 million in Q4 2018.
• Diluted net income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) was RMB4.74 (US$0.68), compared to RMB3.04 in Q4 2018.
• Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS was RMB5.61 (US$0.81), compared to RMB4.05 in Q4 2018.

Momo Highlights for Full Year 2019

• Net revenues increased 27% year over year to RMB17,015.1 million (US$2,444.1 million) for the full year of 2019.
• Net income attributable to Momo was RMB2,970.9 million (US$426.7 million), compared with RMB2,815.8 million for 2018.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Momo was RMB4,493.3 million (US$645.4 million), compared with RMB3,462.1 million for 2018.
• Diluted net income per ADS was RMB13.52 (US$1.94), compared with RMB13.18 for 2018.
• Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS was RMB20.26 (US$2.91), compared with RMB16.17 for 2018

Check out Tencent’s social platforms here.

In 2019, mobile continues to lead China internet. The top mobile apps in China by total MAUs are still led by WeChat, Alipay, QQ, Taobao, iQiyi, and Tencent Video while TikTok continues fast growth and ranks the 7th. Tencent has the highest internet user penetration of 97.3% in China in September 2019, followed by Alibaba, Baidu, and ByteDance. Find a comparison of the four here.

Leading Chinese internet companies are building their own mini-program ecosystem; Tencent’s WeChat, Alibaba’s Alipay, and Baidu’s smart program in the leading positions. ByteDance’s also building on its own ecosystem on TikTok and Toutiao.

China has issued new regulations banning online video and audio providers from using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality technologies to create fake news and content.

The shipment of China’s smartphone market was about 98.9 million units in Q3 2019, down 3.6% year-on-year. Huawei leads China’s smartphone market in Q3 2019 with 41.5 million units in shipment, an increase of 64.6% YoY. Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and Apple rank the second to the fifth.

Awareness of Chinese brands in international markets has declined over the past three years. The “Brand Power” of leading Chinese brands is up 15% year-on-year, compared with 5% growth last year. “Brand Power” is rising fastest in Japan, France, and Spain, representing emerging hubs of growth, according to the BrandZ™ Top 50 Chinese Brand Builders 2019 report.

Alibaba has been crowned the most valuable brand in China for the first time in the annual BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands ranking, having grown its brand value by 59% year-on-year to US$141 billion.

The total value of the Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands increased by 30% to US$889.7 billion, the highest annual rise since the ranking launched in the year 2011.

By 2030, 58% of Chinese households are expected to be in or above the mass-affluent class, exceeding today’s 55% South Korean share according to McKinsey. Urban Chinese consumers’ spending profile converges with their counterparts’ spending profile in cities around the world.

Top articles on Chinese consumers include:

• Men’s beauty market in China looks to be more promising
• Chinese post-95s spent 80% more buying overseas
• Consumption habits of China’s post-90s generation
• 22 FMCG companies reaching over 100 million urban Chinese households in 2019
• China Generation Z overview 2019

Digital Media

Vlog has become the new theme of user growth competition on several video platforms in China. Vlog can be regarded as a kind of “video log” with popular themes of travel, food, pets and etc. Its production is relatively simple, the creator uses the camera to record what he sees and thinks in his daily life, and then through later editing, with music, text or stickers, can produce a Vlog.

China’s search engine companies’ revenue is estimated to reach 158.08 billion yuan (US$22.98 bn) in 2019 and 183.17 billion yuan (US$26.63 bn) next year. But Baidu fell to the third by digital advertising revenues following Alibaba and ByteDance.

Tencent launched several different social ads formats including the Nearby Ads for SME retailers on WeChat Moments.

China Social Media

As of Q3 2019, WeChat’s monthly active users reached 1.15 billion and Weibo’s were 497 million.

In 2019, the top rising social media is no doubt ByteDance’s short video leader TikTok. Short video penetration exceeded 70% in 2019 with 810 million active users in Sep.

WeChat launched its own version of “Facebook Stories”. WeChat launched two new sections -“Time Capsule” and “Top Stories”- and several news features for WeChat iOS 7.0 on December 21, 2018. That’s the biggest upgrade since version 6 four years ago and one big move into the short video market.

Xiaohongshu received most attention in 2018 but faced a rough year in 2019 with its app removed from every major app store” in July. It will launch live broadcasting feature next year. Read our latest insights on how Xiaohongshu successfully pivoted its growth and product strategies.

The most popular articles on social media:

1. Stories behind China’s super app WeChat, told by its founder
2. ByteDance: A Chinese Mobile App Factory
3. Audi used competitor Infiniti’s creative in a video ad on WeChat Moments
4. Top short video apps compared: Tik Tok vs. Kwai – Part 1 Platforms
5. China social media users compared: Weibo vs WeChat vs Momo

China E-commerce & Retail

Taobao, Tmall, and JD have the broadest user reach than other e-commerce platforms in China. Nevertheless, Pinduoduo is the only platform with more low education background users. Both Amazon and Dangdang are much less popular among users with middle school education or lower. Read our online shopper trends for 2019 here.

In 2019, Pinduoduo has beat JD and become the second-largest e-commerce platform in China. Meituan also did very well.

This year’s Tmall 618, there were hundreds of domestic and foreign brands whose sales exceeded last year’s Double 11, with the highest growth rate exceeding 40 times.

Alibaba set a new record of Double 11 in 2019 again with full-day sales on Tmall of 268.4 billion yuan (US$38 billion), the largest annual shopping festival in China. There were 299 brands who reached RMB 100 million in GMV, including Apple, Nike, Estee Lauder and Giorgio Armani. Find out the best-selling brands here.

The number of mobile payment users has reached a saturation point in 2019, and the growth is drawing to a close. The penetration rate is 95.1%. The annual transaction volume of third-party mobile payments reached 183.79 trillion Yuan, an increase of about 20.3% over the previous period. The annual number of transactions reached 1.17 trillion, an increase of about 12.8%.

Following the adoption and popularity of mobile payment, China supermarkets are growingly more intelligent with technologies such as face recognition, IA, AR, O2O, etc. WeChat recently shared a vision of its technology integration with supermarkets in the future.

Live Broadcast for E-Commerce

Live broadcasting has become an important channel for e-commerce sales in 2019 and will continue to grow. A total number of 81 live rooms on Taobao Live reached 100 million yuan sales; a total of 5 organizations broke 1 billion yuan sales. Taobao Live aims to deliver 500 billion yuan sales in the next three years.

Tencent launched a live broadcasting tool for WeChat Official Account (OA) in March 2019, currently supporting audio and video broadcast. Influencing WeChat OA can utilize their fanbase on WeChat, in combination with quality live broadcasts, to drive e-commerce sales.

Though still in the testing phase, Tencent Live integrates live streaming with its mini program. Brands can embed HTML5 based products on its mini program as an entry to its live streaming. Followers and fans can click to open Tencent Live to watch live streaming.

Kuaishou, also known as Kwai, announced its daily active live broadcasting users exceeded 100 million. 56% of Kuaishou anchors are post-90s.

Social E-commerce & Mini Programs

Social e-commerce GMV reached 626.85 billion yuan in 2018 with an increase of 255.8%. It’s expected to continue the fast growth and exceed 1.3 trillion yuan in 2019 and 2.86 trillion in 2021.

Social e-commerce in China has much higher conversion rates than traditional ones. Social e-commerce providers recharge their trust through social currency, which means that product recommendations from WeChat friends naturally have a social trust foundation.

The number of e-commerce transactions on WeChat mini-programs increased by 27 times year-on-year in the first half of 2019,

In Becky’s initial WeChat e-commerce mini-program launch in December 2017, the transactions exceeded one million yuan in 7 minutes and nearly 3 million yuan sales in 113 minutes according to WeChat Advertising. Since then, it has been able to maintain a million transactions in the first minute of new product launches. Read her story here.

Short Video for E-Commerce

TikTok signed a 7-billion yuan agreement with Taobao including 6 billion yuan ads and 1 billion yuan commission according to leaked news online. TikTok denied the accuracy of those numbers but the news got the attention of many in the e-commerce market.

During China’s mid-year shopping festival 618, active TikTok shopping cart user ratio exceeded 68%. The top 30 users referred over 400 million yuan worth of products sales.

Top articles in e-commerce and retail:

1. How Tmall played a vital role in China’slargest wool and textile enterprise
2. Taobao to enable farmers to find new markets and customers
3. Introduction to Xiaomi’s e-commerce platform Youpin
4. Alibaba’s Hema penetrating low-tier cities with Hema Mini supermarket
5. Huawei turning its smartphones to POS machines
6. China’s cross-border e-commerce users overview 2019

Chinese travelers

The total number of online travel agency (OTA) users in China reached 145.6 million. Tier-2 cities in total saw the most number of OTA users (56.68 million), followed by tier-3 group and tier-1.

On average an outbound Chinese tourist plans to spend US$6,706 traveling overseas in 2019, up 15% from 2018. Product quality became the second most important factor to consider when shopping abroad. 69% of outbound Chinese tourists made purchases on their mobile phones in 2018.

China’s emerging Gen-Y’s complete travel experience journey has five stages: dream, plan, book, experience, and share. Get an overview of emerging Gen-Ys’ power, how they re-shape China’s travel market, stages of their travel journey, and how to get ready here.

Sightseeing (around 50%) and vacation (over 40%) were the two main driving force for traveling. Self-guided travelers spend less compared with travelers with guided tours. Self-guided (free and easy trips) travelers spend more on transportation and accommodation than those with guided tours.

Top articles in tourism:

1. China Golden Week Tourism Trends & Insights 2019
2. The emerging Gen-Y for China’s travel market
3. Outbound Chinese tourists mobile payment usage 2019; average spend US$6,706
4. Rising outbound travelers from lower tier cities in China
5. China outbound tourism insights 2019

Annual subscribers can download McKinsey Consumer Trends Report 2020 here.

Momo, one of China’s top mobile social networking platform, announced total net revenues of RMB4,152.6 million (US$604.9 million) in the second quarter of 2019, an increase of 32% from RMB3,152.5 million in Q2 2018.

Monthly Active Users (“MAU”) on Momo application were 113.5 million in June 2019, compared to 108.0 million in June 2018.

Compare: Weibo MAU – 486 mm, WeChat – 1.13 bn, QQ – 808 mm

Total paying users of its live video service and value-added service, without double counting the overlap, including 3.2 million paying users of Tantan, were 11.8 million for Q2 2019, compared to 11.6 million for Q2 2018, which included 3.1 million paying users of Tantan in June 2018.

As of August 25, 2019, the number of paying users of Tantan was 4.1 million.

Its live video service revenues were RMB3,099.9 million (US$451.5 million) in Q2 2019, an increase of 18% from RMB2,620.9 million during Q2 2018. The growth in live video revenues was contributed by the increase in quarterly paying users, as well as the increase in average revenues per paying user per quarter.

Value-added service revenues mainly include virtual gift revenues and membership subscription revenues. The total value-added service revenues were RMB948.4 million (US$138.1 million) in Q2 2019, an increase of 169% from RMB352.6 million during the same period of 2018.

The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to the continued growth of the virtual gift business on the Momo application driven by more paying scenarios introduced to enhance the social experience of Momo users, and the consolidation of Tantan’s membership subscription revenues for the whole second quarter of 2019, compared to the single month of June 2018 in Q2 2018.

Mobile marketing revenues were RMB76.2 million (US$11.1 million) in Q2 2019, a decrease of 46% from RMB142.0 million during the same period of 2018. The decrease in mobile marketing revenues was due to the decrease in advertisement properties on Momo’s platform resulting from the suspension of certain user posting functions.

Mobile games revenues were RMB23.2 million (US$3.4 million) in Q2 2019, a decrease of 33% from RMB34.8 million in Q2 2018. The decrease in mobile game revenues was mainly due to the continued decrease in quarterly paying users of mobile games.

Net income attributable to Momo Inc. decreased to RMB731.8 million (US$106.6 million) in Q2 2019 from RMB750.2 million in the same period of 2018. Momo recognized a total share-based compensation expense of RMB482.5 million (US$70.3 million) in Q2 2019 including a share-based compensation expense of RMB323.7 million (US$47.1 million) regarding certain share options granted to the founders of Tantan Limited (“Tantan”), while the total share-based compensation expense recognized in the same period of 2018 was only RMB134.2 million.

In August 2018, Tantan Limited granted 3,578,205 share options to its founders. The share options included a performance condition in which the founders have the right to receive fully vested options immediately upon achieving certain performance condition. During Q2 2019, the performance condition was met and accordingly, Momo recognized a share-based compensation expense of RMB323.7 million (US$47.1 million) related to those options.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Momo Inc. (note 1) increased to RMB1,242.5 million (US$181.0 million) in Q2 2019, from RMB893.2 million in the same period of 2018. Diluted net income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) was RMB3.33 (US$0.49) in Q2 2019, compared to RMB3.55 in the same period of 2018.

Non-GAAP diluted net income per ADS (note 1) was RMB5.60 (US$0.82) in Q2 2019, compared to RMB4.22 in the same period of 2018.

For the third quarter of 2019, Momo expects total net revenues to be between RMB4.25 billion to RMB4.35 billion, representing an increase of 17% to 19% year over year.

China social e-commerce market to reach 1.3 tn yuan in 2019 and 2.86 tn in 2021

Live video broadcasting has proven to be a fun, engaging way to connect with followers and grow the audience. 78% of online viewers are watching video on Facebook Live as of 2018. In China, live streaming has stepped up the game and become a useful tool to drive e-commerce traffic and sales.

Audiences are quite active in live streaming in China, which makes it a good channel for marketing. 50.5% of them would make comments, over 40% of them would like it, reward hosts (free-to-play), and share videos to others, according to a study by iResearch.

86% of users thought positively about live streaming marketing. Among them, those younger than 24 years are more likely to be attracted by new products release and buyer’s sharing.

In 2018, Taobao’s live broadcasting platform Taobao Live delivered more than 100 billion yuan sales of products, a year-on-year growth rate of nearly 400% according to Alibaba.

A total number of 81 live rooms on Taobao Live reached 100 million yuan sales; a total of 5 organizations broke 1 billion yuan sales. Taobao Live aims to deliver 500 billion yuan sales in the next three years.

80% of the broadcasters are female. The number of Taobao Live broadcasters with a monthly income of over one million yuan has exceeded 100 people.

Meet Viya, a top broadcaster on Taobao Live

Viya used to be a small star in the entertainment industry. She, born in the “fashion family”, circled back to the apparel industry while working as a model and operating offline apparel stores. In 2011, she saw the business opportunity and closed all offline stores and moved to the Taobao platform.

Her fifth year on Taobao, 2015, had a total sales of over 10 million yuan on Double 11 but suffered a net loss of three million yuan.

In May 2016, Viya started the first live broadcast on Taobao. She managed to close 20 thousand sales orders by one live broadcast in the second month.

And, her live broadcast on October 10, 2017, made her a top sales girl.

This very broadcast helped drive 70 million yuan (US$10.6 million) sales to a Taobao store who has zero followers. It started at 7 pm until 40 minutes past midnight and attracted over 1.53 million viewers with 12.3 million likes.

She broke her record in last year’s Tmall Double 11 with over 300 million yuan in sales.

Live video broadcasting is now a critical part of a successful e-commerce operation on Alibaba’s e-commerce ecosystem. Many stores have hired a team of broadcasters with many simultaneous broadcasts of different products.

There is now a group of online shoppers who don’t check out the product details pages. They just watch live video broadcast and place orders.

Said Mr. Zheng during my interview with him, an e-commerce business owner in south China.

Related: Top 20 Chinese video mobile apps in overseas market

E-Commerce Live Broadcasting in WeChat Ecosystem

Tencent launched a live broadcasting tool for WeChat Official Account (OA) in March 2019, currently supporting audio and video broadcast. Influencing WeChat OA can utilize their fanbase on WeChat, in combination with quality live broadcasts, to drive e-commerce sales.

A fashion digital media Ta Du (She Reads) did a live broadcast e-commerce show in April for two hours. It attracted 11,951 viewers and received 1,228 orders with a conversion rate of 18.32% according to 36Kr.

This broadcast utilized both a mobile app and a WeChat mini-program. It started from the mobile app to generate a mini-program card or embeddable code for an official account article. Users can click on that to book, watch, and interact.

Tencent Live serves WeChat’s Official Account. The mobile app can be used to create and operate live broadcasting while the mini-program client serves users for booking, watching, and interacting with the live video broadcasts.

It’s in testing and not available yet in the App Store. WeChat Official Account (OA) owners can get the app download link from Tencent Live Assistant WeChat OA and apply for an account before being able to test it. With about 1.1 billion monthly active users, WeChat could be potentially a massive platform for e-commerce sellers.

Related: How to use live streaming for successful marketing in China in 2018

Other e-commerce live video broadcasting platforms

Some other leading e-commerce platforms in China run their own live video broadcasting channels as well, including Jingdong, Vipshop, Mogujie, etc.

Seeing over 500 million live broadcasting users in China, businesses can also utilize independent popular live video broadcasting platforms and social media to drive brand awareness and product promotions.

Tik Tok has been testing e-commerce integration for over a year, starting from a Taobao e-commerce traffic driver to building its e-commerce ecosystem.

Kuaishou, another top short video platform in China, has integrated with multiple e-commerce platforms including Taobao, Tmall, Youzan, etc. Sellers can drive the traffic directly to the online store and complete the purchase.

Others you could consider include Weibo Live, Momo, Douyu, YY, etc.

If you haven’t started, you should focus on one platform, build your success, and expand from there. Different platforms could have very different demographic users; so, make sure you conduct your research and identify the channels with users meeting your audience profiles.

E-Commerce Live Broadcasting

Live video broadcasting for e-commerce is now a game for professional operations. Broadcasters are carefully tested, selected and trained with a mix of celebrities, Taobao owners, and the professionally trained.

Alibaba recently launched a tool to enable broadcasters to select products from 12 pools of 5 industry categories and about 130 thousand products. Broadcasters can either broadcast anywhere after receiving a product sample or visit the Taobao with additional services.

It appears easier than it actually is when it comes to driving e-commerce sales with live video broadcasting. Merchants must figure out the whole process including personas analysis, products selection, post-sales service, delivery, logistics, etc.

Delivering quality products with a relatively lower price is the key. You need to develop demographic and psychographic profiles of your fans to select the right product. Another critical factor for a successful live broadcast is the content.

Live video broadcasting is a valuable channel that consumer brands should tap on. Working with one of the influencer broadcasters whose fans match the same profile of your audience is a quick way to get started. Alternatively, you can outsource to companies who specialize in this area.

5 consumption trends of post-90s on Tmall Global

Momo, a popular mobile social networking platform in China, saw 113.3 million monthly active users in December 2018, compared with 99.1 million in December 2017. Its total paying users of live video service and value-added service, excluding the overlapping and including 3.9 million paying users of Tantan, were 13.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared with 7.8 million in Q4 2017.

Related: Weibo monthly active users grew to 462 million in Dec 2018, 93% on mobile

In 2018, Momo’s net revenues increased by 51% year-on-year to 13,408.4 million yuan (US$1,950.2 million), primarily driven by the significant increase in net revenues from live video service and value-added service. Non-GAAP net income was 3,462.1 million yuan (US$503.5 million), compared with 2,483.1 million yuan in the prior year period.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, its net revenues were 3,843.9 million yuan (US$559.1 million), an increase of 50% year-on-year.

• live video service revenues were 2,959.2 million yuan (US$430.4 million), an increase of 36% year-on-year;
• value-added service revenues that mainly include membership subscription revenues and virtual gift revenues surged by 272% year-on-year to 722.4 million yuan (US$105.1 million);
• mobile marketing revenues were 122.1 million yuan (US$17.8 million), a decrease of 15% year-on-year.
• mobile games revenues were 25.5 million yuan (US$3.7 million), a decrease of 44% year-on-year;
• revenues from other services primarily consisted of revenues from Phanta City, a TV variety show co-produced by Momo.

Cost and expenses were 3,195.7 million yuan (US$464.8 million), an increase of 65% year-on-year.

China’s top mobile apps in social media

Monthly active users of Momo reached 110.5 million in September 2018, compared with 94.4 million the prior year period, according to its unaudited financial results. Total paying users of Momo’s live video service and value-added services, including 3.6 million paying users of Tantan, were 12.5 million for Q3 2018, an increase of 71.23% year-on-year.  

Total net revenues were $536.0 million in Q3 2018, an increase of 51% year-on-year.

• Live video service revenues were $406.9 million, an increase of 34% year-on-year.
• Value-added service revenues were $84.2 million, an increase of 221% year-on-year. That was mainly from membership subscription revenues and virtual gift revenues.
• Mobile marketing revenues were $17.2 million, a decrease of 1% year-on-year.
• Mobile games revenues were $4.1 million, a decrease of 49% year-on-year.

Net income attributable to Momo was $85.2 million in Q3 2018, compared with $79.1 million the prior year period.

Weibo MAU increased to 446M in Q3 2018, 93% mobile

Continue to read: Top social networking mobile apps in China

Momo, one of the top mobile social networking platform in China, announced total net revenues of $494.3 million in Q2 2018 with an increase of 58% YoY, according to its unaudited financial results.

Net income attributable to Momo increased to $117.8 million in the second quarter of 2018 from $60.8 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Momo increased 90% to $140.2 million from $73.8 million in Q2 2017.

Live video service revenues continued its growth momentum and the total live video service revenues were $411.0 million in Q2 2018 (83% of total), an increase of 58% from $259.4 million during Q2 2017. The rapid growth in live video revenues was contributed by the increase in the quarterly paying users, which was 4.6 million for Q2 2018, as well as, the increase in the average revenues per paying user per quarter.

Momo’s Monthly Active Users (“MAU”) were 108.0 million in June 2018, compared to 91.3 million in June 2017. Total paying users of its live video service and value-added service, including 3.1 million paying users of Tantan in June 2018, were 11.6 million for Q2 2018, compared to 7.1 million in Q2 2017.

China social media users compared: Weibo vs WeChat vs Momo

Momo announced its net revenues totaled US$435.1 million in Q1 2018, an increase of 64% from Q1 2017. Net income attributable to Momo Inc. increased by 59.6% to $129.9 million in Q1 2018 from $81.2 million in Q1 2017.

Momo obtained 103.3 million monthly active users in March 2018. Among which, total paying users of live video service and value-added service, without double counting the overlap, were 8.1 million.

Revenues from live video service totaled US$371.5 million, an increase of 74.8% from US$212.6 million in Q1 2017. The rapid growth in live video revenues was contributed by the increase in the quarterly paying users, which was 4.4 million for Q1 2018, as well as, the increase in the average revenues per paying user per quarter.

Value-added service revenues mainly include membership subscription revenues and virtual gift revenues. The revenues of total value-added service grew by 62% year-on-year to US$37.0 million in Q1 2018. Total paying users of our value-added service were 5.1 million.

Mobile marketing contributed US$18.7 million to total revenues in Q1 2018, a 5% increase year-on-year. While revenues derived from mobile games down by 43% from Q1 2017, which was $6.6 million in Q1 2018.

Momo closed the acquisition of 100% equity stake Tantan Limited in May by borrowing US$300 million bank loan from the domestic commercial bank.

By Q2 2018, the company expects total net revenues to be US$470.0 million and US$485.0 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 51% to 55%.

China social media users compared: Weibo vs WeChat vs Momo

Read more: WeChat Mini-Programs status report 2018

Momo, one of the top social networking mobile app, monthly active users (“MAU”) reached 91.3 million in June 2017, compared to 74.8 million in June 2016 according to its financial results.

Its user growth was driven by the expansion of the video content ecosystem. The usage of short video service has reached new milestones and revenues from live video service have hit new record highs.

Momo’s total paying users of its value-added service were 4.5 million and 3.2 million as of June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Its net revenues increased 215% year over year to $312.2 million. Net income attributable to Momo Inc. increased to $60.8 million in the second quarter of 2017 from $15.4 million in the same period last year.

Live video service continued its momentum and generated revenues of $259.4 million in Q2 2017. The rapid growth in live video revenues was largely contributed by the increase in the quarterly paying users, which was 4.1 million for the second quarter of 2017, and to a lesser extent, the increase in the average revenues per paying user per quarter.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Momo Inc. (Note 1) increased 218% to $73.8 million in Q2 2017 from $23.2 million in Q2 2016.

WeChat MAU grew 19.5% to 963M; QQ down to 850M in Q2 2017

Kantar’s social media report has found that Chinese respondents are generally happy with changes brought by social media. People born in 1990s (post-90s) showed more caution against negative impacts of social media. 

WeChat continues its dominance, however, its growth has largely slowed down. Weibo is making a comeback, many new and old social media platforms are managing to find value developing niche user groups.

Growth of Social Media Platforms in China

While usage penetration and daily active user base keep increasing among all WeChat users, its popularity among 18 to 25 years old had a slight decrease according to Kantar’s research.

Weibo penetration rate had a significant increase, and its influence among younger generation rose.

QQ penetration rate remains unchanged, but usage is increasing among younger users.

Old age groups represent the social media growth hotspots.

“Makeup before leaving home” has been accepted by more female social media users in China. Chinese social media users aren’t necessarily always on the go: they prefer to stay home if nothing special is going on. Inner beauty has a greater recognition among them, and they are more increasingly ready to join charitable causes.

Social Media is Everywhere

Social media not only refers to applications like WeChat, Weibo, QQ and Momo, but also includes thsoe with social functions in video, news, e-commerce, etc.

Mango TV, the video app launched by Hunan Satellite TV Station, is expanding quickly among the young users.

Mobile news app Toutiao grows rapidly

The most recognized positive feature of social media is to help people keep track of friends and family members, followed by following trending topics and learning new knowledge.

Female users feel social media is helpful in making purchasing decisions, relieving pressure and enhancing self-confidence.

Younger generations see social media as an important way of relieving stress. Older generations use it for effectively communicating with friends and family members.

Social media also creates negative impacts in China:

Younger social media users in China are more aware of negative impact brought by social media who are more cautious against impulsiveness, loss of concentration, negative values online, and etc.  90% have taken actions to control the damage, and self-discipline was the most chosen path.

Around 40% of the 90s respondents said they turned off social media app notification.

More than 95% users admit they pay attention to the level of personal information they share on social media according to the survey by Kantar.

Most social media users selectively pay attention to social ads, dominated by Tencent and Weibo. The most important factor is whether it is “humorous and interesting”. The second most important factor is the ads’ relevance with the audience.

Chinese consumers want ad (in all formats) with humor, music and interesting stories.

Most users feel social ads are quite relevant to them.

WeChat is the most satisfying app. Life service reviewing apps/sites, such as Dianping and Ctrip, ranked second at 81.7, followed by social functions on e-commerce platforms (81.2).

WeChat stands out in both usage rate and user ratings; and, dating social networks haven’t made an impact in China yet.

Weibo received particularly positive scores by younger generations: the younger the users are, the higher score they’d give Weibo. The post-90s gave it 79.3 score. Weibo’s monthly penetration rate grew by 3.7 percentage points in April from a year ago to 35.7%. While the penetration rate among the 18-25 age group jumped 13.7 percentage points to 45.9%.

Post-80s users give the highest rating for dating social networks, probably because it is most in demand among them due to their life stage (generally, marriage is a pressing and sometimes depressing issue in China when one reaches a certain age).

Social function within video/live streaming platform is popular among post-80s and post-90s.

Social function within news apps gets a score of 79.7, and are preferred by users in tier-1 cities in China.

China social ads market totaled 6.73 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2017 with an increase of 46.4% YoY or -6.5% QoQ according to data from Analysis.

Tencent dominates China’s social ads market with 59% market share in Q1 2017, followed by Weibo, and Momo. Tencent’s digital assets for social ads include WeChat, QQ, and QZone. WeChat MAU reached 938 million in Q1 2017; QQ 861 million; and, QZone 632 million.

Weibo had a strong first quarter in 2007 with 67% YoY growth in revenues to $199.2 million; its monthly active users increased to 340 million. Tencent and Weibo combined account for over 80% of China’s social advertisements market.

China online advertising market overview Q1 2017

One of the leading social app, Momo reported total net revenues of $265.2 million in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 421% from $50.9 million in Q1 2016.

Momo’s live video broadcasting, launched in Q3 2015, generated revenues of $212.6 million in Q1 2017, accounting for 80.2% of its total net revenues. The rapid growth in live video revenues was mainly because of the increase in paying users. Paying users of live video service for Q1 2017 reached 4.1 million.

Its total value-added service revenues were $22.9 million in Q1 2017, an increase of 54% from $14.9 million during the same period of 2016, primarily driven by:

• the increase of virtual gift service revenues
• the increase of membership subscription revenues as a result of the increase in average revenues per paying user, as more members bought our premium VIP package
• the increase in the total number of members.

Momo saw $17.9 million in mobile marketing revenues in Q1 2017, an increase of 45% from $12.4 million in Q1 2016. The growth in mobile marketing business was driven by an increase in effective cost per mille (eCPM) of its news feed advertising service.

Mobile games revenues reached $11.6 million in Q1 2017, an increase of 56% from $7.4 million during Q1 2016.  Net income attributable to Momo Inc. was $81.2 million in Q1 2017, compared to $7.1 million during the same period last year.

Momo’s monthly active users were 85.2 million in March 2017, compared to 72.3 million in March 2016. Its VIP members increased to 3.6 million in Q1 2017 from 3.2 million in Q1 2016.

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