Can online gifts match digital red packets’ Spring Festival popularity?
Mixed response to internet platforms’ efforts to replicate the success of digital lai see, which was first introduced a decade ago
While the new functions could make it more convenient to give gifts and replicate the success of WeChat’s decade-old digitalisation of lai see – the red packets containing money that are traditionally handed out during Spring Festival – interviews with more than a dozen people show widespread adoption might face challenges.
Some people, especially youngsters attracted by the novelty and convenience, said they would be happy to try them out, but others said they were incompatible with traditional Chinese gift-giving culture.
“For Spring Festival, I prefer to visit friends and family bearing physical gifts – a long-standing tradition for Chinese people – instead of turning up empty-handed,” said Xia Jiyu, a housewife in her 50s who lives in Sichuan province.
A gift-giving function introduced by WeChat last month allows users to select products through its e-commerce channels, pay for them, and send the gift directly to a WeChat friend. Similar features have also been launched on other platforms, including Taobao and Douyin, with gift offerings ranging from consumer goods and clothing to cosmetics and jewellery. Taobao is owned and operated by Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post.
