{"id":12862,"date":"2023-08-08T06:30:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T06:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=12862"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:08:00","slug":"12862-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/12862-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why WeChat is more popular than email in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

WeChat often wins out over email China, which has implications for both work communications and marketing, writes Kristina Koehler-Coluccia, Head of Business Advisory at Woodburn Accountants & Advisors<\/h2>\n

Most Western entities use email as their main form of communication. However, the constant evolution of technology and changing habits of users are forcing companies to resort to new ways of sharing information.<\/p>\n

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In the UK and other parts of the world, as the web was emerging into mainstream use in the late 1990s, PCs were relatively abundant. In 1999, there were 50.5 computers for every 100 people, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n

Most first-time internet users were working adults or college students about to join the market. Email became a primary mode of communication in the office. And as desktop PCs began to move from the office to households and schools, parents and teachers taught younger people how to use the internet.<\/p>\n

In China, on the other hand, there were only 1.2 computers per 100 people. Outside of the major cities, most households did not own a computer, much less one connected to the internet. In crowded dormitories, there wasn\u2019t much space for students to cram in a desktop PC. Moreover, China\u2019s white-collar population was far smaller proportionally than that of the US.<\/p>\n

The country was a relatively late adopter of computers, and when internet cafes opened, young people started to use social messaging programmes such as QQ (created by Tencent) to communicate with one another. Unlike standard emailing, QQ provided entertainment and more interaction with features such as instant messaging.<\/p>\n

In the 2000s, smartphones replaced computers as the main computing device in China. Data from the state-backed think-tank China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows the rise in China\u2019s internet penetration correlates almost perfectly with mobile phone adoption and that most connectivity originates on the phone.<\/p>\n

When WeChat was released in 2011 (also by Tencent), it soon became an integral part of daily life. The multi-functioning instant messaging mobile app replaced the use of emails, especially in personal communication and in smaller, local companies. As a result, foreign companies operating in China had to rethink their internal communication strategies.<\/p>\n