Uber’s WeChat tie-up pays off as demand from Chinese tourists rises overseas
Uber will offer a discount of at least 40 per cent during Lunar New Year for new mainland users who join via its WeChat mini-program
Uber Technologies’ strategic partnership with Tencent Holdings’ super app WeChat is yielding significant dividends for the ride-hailing operator as it meets a critical demand for Chinese travellers overseas.
Since Uber launched a mini-program on WeChat in July, travellers from the mainland have been actively using Uber’s services via the new channel in 20 markets, said Anthony Wong, who leads Uber’s partnership with Tencent, on Thursday.
While the ride-hailing service provider operates in 70 markets globally, these 20 markets, which included the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, were among the most important for the company, Wong said at a WeChat event in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. About 90 per cent of the mini-program users were new to Uber, he added.
In 2016, New York-listed Uber merged its mainland Chinese operations with Didi Chuxing, the mainland’s largest car-hailing platform, after years of a debilitating price war.
The budding partnership with WeChat, which has 1.4 billion monthly active users globally, has encouraged Uber to launch a new campaign to attract more Chinese users.
During the Lunar New Year in February, when mainland residents will enjoy a record nine-day holiday, Uber would offer a discount of at least 40 per cent for new users who join via the mini-program, Wong said.