As typical Gen Xers, my friends and I were total mall rats when we were teens. We’d meet up on most Saturday mornings, weave in and out of stores – Lerner and Deb for clothes and jewelry, Waldenbooks for the new Jackie Collins novel or that’s month’s issue of Tigerbeat, Spencer for the laughs – for a couple of hours before heading to the food court for lunch and boy-watching.
After some eats, we’d spend another hour or two flipping through albums (vinyls) in the record store or just sitting and chatting, grab movie tickets, jump into the photo booths while waiting for seating, and after the flick, use a pay phone to call our parents to pick us up. It was a microcosm of our suburban sprawl that we could traverse in a day with the freedom we lacked outside of its doors. For us, malls weren’t just for shopping…they were a lifestyle.
A Mall-in-One App
Weixin (WeChat in the States), the China-based multi-function social networking app, debuted in 2011 and by 2014 it had “more than three million active users in China, Southeast Asia, Europe and America.
What made it so successful? A few factors.
First, a great understanding of who their audience was and what they wanted. Namely young urban smartphone users and an all-in-one app. With so many apps to choose from, Weixin made it easy for users by providing them with a mini-operating system within their phones’ larger one. And since 90% of young adults at the time were mobile users, it only made sense to target them.
Second, convenience. With all of the app’s features, it very much reminds me of the mall concept; it certainly offers the same kind of experience. Back in the day, my friends and I may have met at the mall for social reasons, but while we were there, we could search for a new pair of sneakers for gym, buy concert tickets and catch a movie.
Weixin offered its users many of the same types of benefits with the functions it offers, such as:
- creator profile for personalization
- messaging
- picture sharing
- an in-app browser
- online shopping
- cab reserving service
- seasonal or time-limited functions (such as money dispersal for red envelope day
In addition, the company will often add features to keep up with the times as well as meet the changing wants of needs of their customers.
Third, ease of use. Weixin made the app user-friendly. Instead of typing out Chinese characters on their phone, users were able to use voice to send messages “by simply holding one button and talking.” Users also rarely had to leave the app since it provided so many everyday functions.
Finally, they met their users where they were (on their phones), and worked their way into their daily lives. In the book, Atomic Habits, James Clear discusses how much easier it is to establish new habits by latching them onto old ones. Weixin seemed to understand this concept and were successful in tying their app into their custumers’ habit of using their phones throughout the day.
(L Mahoney & Tang Tang, 2017)
What about US?
According to World Population Review (2023) Weixin (WeChat) has about four million users in the U.S. Of these, “approximately a quarter of all people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 24 use this platform….(and) it is one of the main competitors to other major social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram.”
Will it continue to grow in the U.S.? It’s difficult to say. The overall number of newer users is decreasing globally due to so many people already using it, but this doesn’t necessarily apply to users nationally. There is still room for continued growth in the U.S., as long as one-in-all apps continue to be popular. But this may not remain the case. As Alison Zeller of Exploding Topics shares,” in a 2023 article from The New York Times, a social media expert declared that “platforms as we know them are over….(and) instead of one-size-fits-all social platforms, it’s predicted that smaller, more niche platforms will lure a large number of users in the coming years… (in fact) in one survey, nearly 60% of people under 30 said they preferred smaller social communities.”
Do you use WeChat? If yes, what do you like about it? If not, would you consider it? Let me know in the comments!
(Source of all photos: Canva)
Sources Cited:
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits. Penguin Publishing Group.
L Meghan Mahoney, & Tang Tang, (Writer On Social Media. (2017). Strategic social media : from marketing to social change. Wiley Blackwell.
World Population Review. (2023). WeChat Users by Country 2022. Worldpopulationreview.com. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/wechat-users-by-country
Zeller, A. (2023, July 28). The Future of Social Media (2023-2026). Exploding Topics. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/future-of-social-media
THE CRAFTY QUILLER 
Hi Lisa! I think that your blog post is very detailed and very well written. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the Weixin case study. I especially love how you compared the app to a mall. I think this was a great way to describe the experience of using the app. I had mentioned in my blog post that one of the main reasons for this app’s worldwide success is because it successfully meets a wide range of user needs all neatly packaged into one single platform. Combined with the easy-to-use interface, there would be no need for users to continue to switch from app to app, when they can get everything they need from Weixin.
Additionally, I really like how you mentioned in your post that four million users from the United States use the app as well. You also stated that “approximately a quarter of all people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 24 use this platform (and) it is one of the main competitors to other major social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram”. I found that very fascinating. In my blog post I said that Weixin is more than just a combination of various apps, but more of a space where users can do almost everything. It’s truly that convenience that keeps drawing people in. So, to answer your questions, no I haven’t used this app. But the more I read about it the more interested I seem to become. I look forward to reading more blog posts from you in the future!!
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HI Crafty Quiller,
Weixin’s success as a social media app can be perfectly compared to how malls function because both serve as a centralized hub that fulfills a variety of customer needs in one convenient location. Just as malls bring together clothing stores, food courts, toy shops, and shoe stores under one roof, Weixin integrates a wide range of services, from messaging and social networking to payments, e-commerce, and entertainment, all within a single app. This all-in-one approach meets diverse user needs seamlessly, keeping users engaged for longer periods and offering them multiple reasons to stay within the platform – similar to how shoppers are drawn to malls for the convenience of having everything in one place. The analogy highlights how both Weixin and malls thrive by offering diversity, accessibility, and convenience in one cohesive experience.
While I do not have experience using Weixin, I can relate to being a Gen Xer. As a teen, the mall was the best a hang out spot. My friends and I would devour a frozen Icee from Sears, grab a cookie from Mrs. Field’s, buy some jewelry and talk about any developments with our crushes. I appreciate how you write your blogs with a blend of nostalgia and the current social media trends.
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I really do miss the days when the mall was more than just a place to shop—it was more so a hangout spot where we could just chill, meet friends, and feel independent. It’s crazy how Weixin/WeChat is like a digital version of that ‘all-in-one’ experience for a new generation. Instead of hopping from store to store, people now just do everything online—shop, chat, and book services, all in one app.
I’ve dabbled with WeChat, and I appreciate how convenient it is to have all those features in one place. It’s like reliving those mall days but in the digital world—everything you need, right there on your phone. But I get why some folks prefer smaller, more specific platforms that match their interests. With social media constantly changing, I wonder if WeChat’s ‘mall-in-one’ thing will keep growing, especially with younger users leaning towards more curated online spaces.
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