Starbucks and Tencent’s WeChat partner on gifting features in China

Saying thanks in China has just got a whole lot more caffeinated as Tencent, the company that owns the social media platform WeChat, has struck a deal with coffee chain Starbucks to introduce a gifting feature into the platform.

WeChat users will be able to gift Starbucks drinks and products over the social messaging app and add a personalised message. Recipients of these gifts can save their gifts on their WeChat accounts and redeem their gift at the 2,500 Starbucks stores across mainland 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,” said Belinda Wong, CEO, Starbucks China.

Part of the partnership deal will also see Starbucks introduce WeChat Pay to its stores. The app, which boasts nearly 850 million global monthly active user accounts, allows its users to make cash-free payments using QR-Codes. According WeChat, 300 million users have linked their bank card to the app or QQ, another Tencent service.

“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.

 

(Headline photo credit: Joshua Trujillo, Starbucks)

Related reading