China has the largest smartphone market around. With approximately 691 million unique mobile subscribers, mobile app business is booming – making mainland China the world’s most exciting market for digital marketing. In 2014, Chinese mobile phone users collectively downloaded close to 185 billion apps, which is 59% of all app downloads worldwide. In comparison: mobile phone users in the United States only transferred 8% of all global app downloads.
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China does not only have a flourishing mobile app market; it is also a unique one. Popular Western app services like Twitter or Facebook have been blocked in mainland China for over five years now. Since the end of 2014, all Google services, including Gmail, Google Search, Google Maps or Google Play, have also been cut off. The absence of these major Western app services has created a distinctive Chinese app environment, where domestic brands such as Baidu, Weibo or Weixin dominate the market.
Since 2015, China has officially surpassed the US as Apple’s biggest iPhone market. Although Apple has the number one spot in urban China smartphone sales (27.6% market share), it is Android that takes the crown in terms of application sales revenue. Popular smartphone brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo or Samsung are all based on the Android operating system. In China, the ‘iOS versus Android’ battle is not about ‘iTunes versus Google Play’, as seen elsewhere in the world. Because of the blockage of Google Play and China’s flourishing domestic app market, Chinese Android users download their apps through a variety of app stores. Alternative Android app stores like 360 (360手机助手), MyApp by Tencent (腾讯应用宝), Baidu app store (百度手机助手), the Xiaomi phone store (小米应用商店) or Wandoujia (豌豆荚) are amongst the most popular ones.
Because every digital marketer should know what China’s big players are, we have compiled a list of the top ten apps of China.
1. Weixin: the essential app for everyday life
Weixin (微信), also known as WeChat, is China’s most popular smartphone application. It was launched in 2011 by Tencent. The power of this app lies in its multifunctionality; Weixin is Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, Shazam, Viber and Uber, all combined into one app. It therefore is the essential app for everyday life. Through Weixin’s chat functions, you can have individual conversations with your friend or make a group chat. There is a large variety of emoji’s to choose from to express your mood. The ‘moments’ function is comparable to Facebook’s timeline, where you can follow what your friends are doing and comment on their pictures. Through ‘subscription accounts’ it is possible to follow your favorite companies or media sources, from CCTV to McDonalds. Except for a great social media platform, Weixin is also an important way for (Chinese) media and businesses to stay in touch with their audiences.
Weixin is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store, both in Chinese and English versions.
2. Sina Weibo: not dead yet
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is China’s biggest social media platform, comparable to Twitter, launched in August 2009. In 2014, many different media have stated that Weibo is dying as a consequence to new rules that required users to register with their real names. More people allegedly switched from Weibo to Weixin, media argued, and Weibo would soon be on the way out as online free speech becomes more and more limited. Although Weibo is not the platform it used to be, it is still very much alive. The private dimension of Weibo (talking amongst friends) has made room for Weixin, where P2P is the most important form of interaction. Sina Weibo is now a public social media platform and China’s most dominant source of news content, where netizens discuss trending topics of the day. Weibo has 600 million registered users; around 198 million of them of them are monthly active users. 70% of Weibo’s daily traffic comes through its mobile app.
Weibo is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
3. Taobao: the ultimate mobile shop
Taobao Marketplace is one of China’s largest online shopping platforms, comparable to EBay or Amazon. It was launched in 2003 by China’s Alibaba Group. Taobao is a place where small businesses and individuals can sell products to consumers – anything from clothes to medicine. Alibaba’s mobile Taobao application has more than 100 million visits daily.
Taobao is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
4. Pitu: playing with pictures
Taking selfies is a national hobby in China. Photoapp Pitu (天天P图) is one of the most popular photo apps around. Never before did a free photo app come with so many possibilities. Pitu is a camera and retouch app that offers a myriad of different filters to make you look your prettiest.
But there is much more: Pitu also allows you to play dress up with different make-up styles that look so real that is easy trick friends into thinking you actually did your make-up like Lady Gaga or a Peking Opera star. Besides the pre-made make-up sets (under “cosplay”), you can also apply your own make-up and decide on colors of eye-shadow, hair and lips. The app has many different templates to create collages. The ‘cut-out’ section lets you use your face in different backgrounds.
天天P图 is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
5. Tencent News: online media leader
Tencent (‘Tengxun’ in Chinese) is just one of those companies, like Baidu and Alibaba, that seems to be everywhere in China’s digital environment. Besides creating China’s most popular app Weixin, Tencent also has music streaming services, online gaming and other media. Tencent News (腾讯新闻) is China’s most popular news app, always bringing the latest news and sending push notifications on bigger events. Tencent has multiple advertisement opportunities.
Tencent News is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
6. Kugou Music: no Spotify
Kugou (酷狗) is one of China’s major digital music-streaming apps. Over 73% of China’s internet population uses the Internet to listen to music, making the music-streaming market a huge one. Besides Kugou, other domestic brands such as Baidu Music or QQ Music are also leaders in the music app business, making Swedish music streaming service Spotify virtually futureless in mainland China. It is possible to advertise on Kugou, and we will write more about that in the near future.
Kugou is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
7. Youku: China’s Youtube
Youku (优酷) is one of China’s most popular online streaming platforms. Although it is also a website, Youku is especially popular on mobile. Every day, over 400 million videos are watched on Youku through smarthphone. Youku merged with other video streamer giant in 2012, and has now officially become Youku Tudou. China’s Alibaba Group has become the sole owner of Youku Tudou since 2015.
Youku is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
8. Baidu: Everything You Need
Baidu, comparable to Google, is one of China’s Internet giants. The Baidu app store is one of the most popular app stores around, and its browser and search engine app is more popular than any other. When going to China, Chrome will not work on your mobile phone (neither with the Google app store), so we would recommend downloading the Baidu browser app beforehand, together with Baidu app store and Baidu maps.
9. Shiji Jiayuan: Love online
Matchmaking is a hot business in China. Millions of Chinese women and men go online every day in hopes of finding their Mr. or Mrs. Perfect. The app Shiji Jiayuan (世纪佳缘) is the most popular app for online dating, together with apps like Momo and Tan Tan. These apps are comparable to Tinder. Amongst other functions, they allow users to explore potential love interests based on one’s location. This makes it possible for members to look for a partner who lives in the same neighbourhood or goes to the same karaoke bar. These apps generate revenue through paid membership or advertising.
Shiji Jiayuan is free and is available for iOs and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
10. Alipay: China’s No1 Mobile Wallet
China is of the fastest country in the world to increasingly use mobile wallets instead of cash. Alipay is China’s leading third-party online payment solution, comparable to Paypal. It was launched over a decade ago by Alibaba’s Jack Ma. With over 300 million users, Alipay is a very popular way to pay for online purchases or services, but also real-life purchases (KFC, for example, allows its customers to pay through Alipay in-store by scanning a QR code). As Alipay has gone international, and more and more American and European players now accept Alipay on their e-commerce sites, Alipay is an essential channel for Western companies to reach Chinese consumers.
Alipay is free and is available for iOS and Android users, from iTunes to Google Play or any other app store.
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