On December 19, with the gray testing of the "Gift" feature in WeChat Mini Store starting, related concept stocks on both the Hong Kong and A-shares markets experienced significant fluctuations. Tencent's stock rose by 2.27%, while Meituan Group skyrocketed nearly 36%. In the A-share market, stocks such as Tiandi Online, Xinyada, Shiyida, and Jinzi Ham also hit the daily limit. This phenomenon reflects not only the market's eager anticipation for WeChat Mini Store's new feature but also highlights the potential development space for social e-commerce.

Significant Meaning of the New Feature

According to the WeChat team's announcement, the "Gift" feature allows users to send products to friends via the WeChat platform. Except for jewelry and education-related items, all products priced under 10,000 yuan can be sent through this feature. The launch of this feature is seen by industry insiders as a major upgrade for WeChat e-commerce, marking a new phase for social e-commerce.

Industry analysts point out that the timing of this feature's launch coincides with the upcoming Christmas, New Year, and Spring Festival holidays, greatly enhancing the potential for social interactions and e-commerce integration. Through the "Gift" feature, users can achieve a more convenient shopping experience in social contexts, promoting user growth in e-commerce.

Operation Process of "Gift"

After users search for their desired gifts in WeChat, they can directly click "Send to a Friend" if the item supports the "Gift" feature. After confirming the item, users select the recipient and complete the payment. Once the gift is sent, the recipient must fill in their address and confirm receipt within 24 hours; if not handled in time, the order will be automatically canceled and refunded. This design not only enhances user experience but also avoids the cumbersome steps of confirming addresses traditionally associated with gift-giving.

Deep Integration of Social and E-commerce

The launch of the "Gift" feature brings to mind the success of WeChat's red envelopes in 2014. That "red envelope war" not only promoted the widespread adoption of WeChat Pay but also posed a significant challenge to Alibaba. Today, whether the WeChat Mini Store's "Gift" feature can recreate a similar "shortcut" in the e-commerce sector remains to be seen.

According to analysis by CITIC Securities, the "Gift" feature in WeChat Mini Store is similar to the early operation of the video accounts, but it focuses more on extending natural user interactions. This light-asset operating model allows the "Gift" feature to explode during specific holidays, fully leveraging WeChat's mature social network to cultivate user shopping habits within the ecosystem.

Market Reaction and Future Prospects

After the announcement, Meituan Group's stock surged over 50% at one point during trading, closing up 35.76% with a total trading volume exceeding 2.8 billion Hong Kong dollars. In the A-share market, multiple concept stocks also exhibited strong upward trends. This phenomenon indicates the market's strong confidence in the future development of WeChat Mini Store.

However, expectations for the "Gift" feature are not without skepticism. Some analysts believe that the actual effectiveness of this feature may face challenges from user habits and market demand. Although the social attributes of gift-giving align with WeChat's core functions, it remains to be seen whether it can achieve significant GMV growth in the e-commerce market.

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（Source: uSMART HK）