Tencent is finding success in offering inexpensive content
Tencent is one of China’s largest Internet and commerce businesses, but it does have strong competition from others that have established a foothold in both of these sectors. In order for Tencent to beat out the competition, the company is beginning to focus on providing consumers with inexpensive entertainment, ranging from mobile games to free video streaming services. Tencent expects to see significant growth in the coming year, despite the slowing economy in China.
Mobile games and free HBO streaming are likely to generate strong interest among consumers
Tencent is responsible for the massively popular WeChat and QQ messaging applications. Both of these apps will soon support new mobile games that are coming to the country. They will also offer free streaming of HBO’s successful “Game of Thrones” series. Mobile games, in particular, are likely to drive significant growth, as many consumers in China prefer to play these types of games because they represent a very convenient form of entertainment.
China’s economy is growing slowly
By coupling mobile games with free video streaming through WeChat and QQ, Tencent expects that it will see a 28% surge in sales. This is four times faster than the rate of domestic economic growth in China. The country’s economy is currently growing at the slowest rate it has seen in 25 years. Several companies have managed to find success despite the slowing economy through a focus on the mobile sector. These companies are supporting mobile commerce, as well as various forms of mobile media.
Mobile games continue to find success in China
Mobile games are likely to become a primary focus for Tencent, but not the company’s sole focus, of course. Tencent has a long history of supporting mobile gaming and by expanding the capabilities of its WeChat and QQ apps, it will likely connect better with gamers in China. Many new games are coming to China, with developers seeing significant promise in the country. This has made China one of the fastest growing markets for mobile games in the world.
Mobile commerce began gaining momentum in China when Alibaba, the country’s leading online merchant, began supporting mobile shopping through its e-commerce store Taobao. Consumers quickly showed strong support for mobile shopping because of its convenient nature. The use of QR codes to initiate mobile transactions is quite popular throughout the country, as consumers can simply scan one of these codes with their smartphones in order to purchase products. Apps like WeChat have become very powerful tools in the retail space, pressuring merchants to become more mobile-centric.