Starbucks and Tencent Announce Strategic Partnership to Launch Social Gifting on WeChat in China
December 07 2016 - 12:00PM
Business Wire
Companies to co-create a social gifting feature
early next year aimed at fostering human connections through the
instant delivery of gratitude and love with Starbucks gifts
Partnership extends WeChat Pay across Starbucks
stores in Mainland China beginning December 8
Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Tencent Holdings
Limited (SEHK: 00700), a leading provider of internet value-added
services in China, today pioneered a strategic partnership to
co-create a new social gifting feature on WeChat, China’s leading
mobile social communications service, in early 2017.
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Belinda Wong, ceo, Starbucks China
announces strategic partnership with Tencent to create a new social
gifting experience and an additional mobile payment option in
China. (Photo: Business Wire)
This partnership positions Starbucks as the first retail brand
to combine and bring a locally-relevant social gifting and digital
payment experience to life on WeChat in China. Tapping into the 846
million global monthly active user accounts (as of the third
quarter of 2016), the new integrated feature will seamlessly allow
customers in China to instantly and conveniently gift Starbucks to
a friend or loved one. Beginning today, Starbucks customers will
also be able to use WeChat Pay to make purchases at close to 2,500
Starbucks stores across Mainland China.
“Starbucks and Tencent share similar values to enable greater
human connections through our respective products and services, and
I am pleased to partner with an established and respected social
and mobile industry leader in China,” said Belinda Wong, ceo,
Starbucks China. “This new strategic partnership will leverage the
strengths of both Starbucks and WeChat to create a true
online-to-offline social gifting platform that will deepen our
engagement with our customers in a unique and powerful way. Just as
Starbucks cards are among the most gifted around the globe, we
aspire to also become the most gifted brand digitally in
China.”
“The strategic cooperation between WeChat and Starbucks enables
us to bring the unique Starbucks retail experience seamlessly to
hundreds of millions of WeChat users in China,” said Allen Zhang,
Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent. “We are happy to be the
partner of choice of Starbucks and look forward to deepening our
connection to our users through the highest-quality services.”
Starbucks is committed to innovative digital experiences that
surprise, delight and deliver an elevated Starbucks Experience for
its customers across China. The online social gifting platform is
part of the company’s growing digital presence focused on
connecting with customers through digital channels, including the
Starbucks® Mobile App, the My Starbucks Rewards® program and social
media.
Jointly created by Starbucks and WeChat, the social gifting
feature encourages everyday acts of kindness and appreciation among
family and friends. Customers will be able to select from
Starbucks-branded gifts and products and add a personalized message
of love, of gratitude or to simply uplift someone’s day. Recipients
of these personal and simple acts of kindness can save their gifts
and memories on their WeChat accounts and redeem their gift at
Starbucks stores across China to enjoy the unparalleled Starbucks
Experience.
As part of this partnership, Starbucks will introduce the use of
WeChat Pay for purchases in its retail stores in a continued effort
to elevate the in-store experience for customers. This cash-free
digital payment experience, which allows users to pay for their
goods and services from their mobile devices, is one of the most
popular payment methods in China, with more than 300 million users
linking their bank cards with WeChat or QQ, another flagship
service of Tencent, as of March 2016.
Today’s announcement builds on Starbucks rapidly expanding
portfolio of digital innovations in China, which integrates the
exceptional in-store experience with the digital Fourth Place
experience. Earlier this year, Starbucks launched a mobile payment
system in China aimed at providing My Starbucks Rewards® (MSR)
members access to a fast, seamless and convenient way to pay for
purchases, using their pre-loaded Starbucks Gift Card on their
mobile devices.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to
ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today,
with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster
and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our
unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we
bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer
through every cup. To share in the experience please visit us in
our stores, online at Starbucks.com and through
the Starbucks Newsroom.
About WeChat
WeChat envisions and innovates new ways for people to connect,
communicate and share. A mobile social communication app designed
for smartphone users, WeChat is one of the world's fastest growing
social apps with hundreds of millions of users internationally.
WeChat empowers users in fun and dynamic ways, by bringing together
messaging, social communication and games in one seamless,
interactive experience, with comprehensive privacy and security
settings that can be tailored as needed. WeChat provides a central
point of control for users to share voice, photos, videos, and text
messages across their entire social eco-system. Through Official
Accounts, WeChat allows brands to deliver rich and high-touch
appealing content experiences to engage with and grow their
communities. WeChat is available free to download on Android, iOS,
Windows operating system, web version and Mac for desktop
version.
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