European Beauty retailer Feelunique expands in China with WeChat launch
European beauty retailer Feelunique is expanding its presence in the China market by building a WeChat mini-program to sell to consumers
by TameBay
Feelunique, one of Europe’s leading beauty companies, is building on an already successful online presence in China with the launch of a WeChat site.
The move exploits WeChat’s mini program platform, a suite of sub-app mini programs that add functionality to the WeChat platform and allow brands to create new add-on services to the chat platform. Feelunique joins JD.com, which was one of first retailers to make use of the ecommerce WeChat mini program for its own goods.
The beauty retailer already has 100,000 WeChat followers and is tapping into them with the new presence. Working with China retail specialist Azoya to implement the technology, shoppers will be able to access the Mini Program via WeChat and buy items in the same way they would on Feelunique’s website, without the need to download an additional app.
The Mini Program will also enable Feelunique to incentivise customers to share content on WeChat, increasing Feelunique’s penetration in China’s growing online market.
“Our Mini Programme represents an additional channel to drive consumer acquisition in China. It will leverage our existing WeChat presence – which includes an official account with over 100,000 followers and a WeChat store – by enabling customers to complete a purchase within the WeChat ecosystem. The platform will be at the forefront of our localised, multichannel digital strategy, supporting our existing standalone website and marketplace solutions. We continue to adapt to China’s fast-changing market to maximise the potential of channels available to us in order to reach new customers.”
– says Joel Palix, CEO, Feelunique
Feelunique is one of the first pureplay cross-border retailers to launch a Mini Program, with Mini Programs attracting more than 114 million users overall since they were introduced in China in January 2017.In the two and a half years since Feelunique launched in China, the region has become Feelunique’s largest international market accounting for over 15% of global sales.
“According to a report on Chinese cross-border ecommerce co-published by Frost & Sullivan and Azoya Consulting, beauty is the second most popular category with Chinese shoppers,” says “This market creates an exciting but competitive opportunity for cross-border retailers. The WeChat Mini Programme is proving to be a promising touchpoint for online retailers and will contribute to healthy, long-term growth in China for Feelunique.”
– Don Zhao, Co-founder, Azoya