The Way Apps Like WhatsApp, WeChat Could Make Money Even while Offering up Free Texting And Calling5337995
Ever thought about just how a messaging app could make money while offering free texting and calling? WhatsApp users within India could be surprised to learn that there is much more to messaging apps than communicating. Here is how: by providing services such as digital payments, online shopping and also content.
China's WeChat is one of the ultimate example of the large potential which messaging apps hold. With over 900 million monthly active users, WeChat enables them to do everything from messaging, buying grocery, hailing cabs, ordering online food as well as offline payments at restaurants - all this without having to go to another app. These kinds of services not merely offer the company unbelievable customer stickiness, additionally they create a remarkable revenue model.
At the moment, WeChat's rivals outside China this includes WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Viber and Line are behind the curve on this front, even though some have begun on the way to becoming bigger platforms. "The reason chat apps are widening beyond communications is to create a lasting monetisation strategy," said Neha Dharia, a senior analyst with a focus on messaging at London-based research firm Ovum. "Chat apps are moving from being merely a provider of communication tools chat, voice and also video) to being a platform for the exchange of services, payment mechanisms and also content consumption." WhatsApp, the biggest messaging app on the planet with 1.3 billion every month active users, introduced a business version in India early this week. "Based on research, we realize that people are utilizing WhatsApp to speak with businesses. make business messaging far more convenient for individuals and more effective for businesses," a WhatsApp spokesman said in respond to ET's questions. Whatsapp Business is a different app from Whatsapp Messenger, aimed mostly at giving a direct communication platform to smaller businesses, a lot of who might be using WhatsApp already.
Even while Whatsapp has maintained the service free, it may broaden it to bigger businesses with added features such as analytics, from which it could demand a usage fee at a later stage, hence developing a revenue model, segment watchers said. This actually also is aimed at increasing subscriber connect which it can make use of for future monetization of their other services. The bigger agenda - and a more crucial one - for these companies is to get active users to spend more time on the app or services and make it viable for profit generation, according to analysts.
"Each and every technology company is vying for consumer stickiness, interaction and also time spent on the app, and in order to keep them around the app's ecosystem they're widening themselves to turn into platforms. Merely being messaging apps offering free services is not going to be a good revenuegeneration model," said Jayanth Kolla, founding father of Bengaluru-based research firm Convergence Catalyst.
