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THREAD: Quick highlights from a speech I gave 2 years ago on the top mobile trends in China. I'm realizing all of these trends are still “new” and relevant for us here in the States. If you haven’t seen the speech, here are some highlights:
1/ No discussion on China tech would be complete without WeChat, QR codes and Alipay. The first third of the speech explains how businesses use WeChat and I give various examples of creative viral campaigns from brands you’ll recognize. 
2/ The plumbing of China’s digital revolution is mobile payments and QR codes. Even though QR codes are still rare to come by in the States, in China they are the essential bridge between the online and offline world.
3/ Alibaba, Tencent, and many retailers invested huge dollars into catalyzing the country into mobile payments. I still remember a coffee shop in Beijing where paying with a QR code was cheaper than paying with cash -- the stores aren’t crazy, they just have diff incentives.
4/ Ecommerce in China is very advanced. Social ecommerce in particular is thriving, not only on the WeChat platform but via online influencers (“Wang Hong”). These influencers aren’t just endorsing products but creating product themselves, and selling them for big profits.
5/ Many influencers are able to sell their own product lines effectively because China is so accustomed to video and livestreaming. And as we know from QVC and HSN days, video is a great way to merchandise.
6/ Livestreaming is still a big market in China, platforms have created the right flywheel of incentives so that video hosts are rewarded for being entertaining, funny, and engaging with their audience.
This speech was given in 2016! Yet so many of these trends are still novel and applicable to us today in 2019... studying China is a great way to gain some product or biz model inspiration. If you're new to China tech, check out the video for more:
