The term “O2O” is, of course, a buzzword. It has multiple applications in every industry, region and market. In China, O2O has transformed from being a “trend” to being the de-facto operating model for digitally-oriented businesses in China.

So, what does O2O really mean in the context of Retail business in China?

At a very basic-level, O2O brings a retail brand’s offline presence (customer experience and CRM Loyalty in Offline Stores) in sync with their digital presence i.e. WeChat.

Brands have been doing this in China for a while, with WeChat paving the way for deep (but controlled) customer engagement.

A simple H5 page, powered by WeChat can enable brands to:

1. Register / Sign-up members via WeChat using QR Codes which can be augmented by showing Member Points / Coupons / Transaction history.
2. Link Offline Stores’ POS systems with their WeChat presence to help proactively identify customers when they visit offline stores, using WiFi and multiple location-based techniques to offer better in-store experiences.
3. Drive games and engagement-based campaigns to personalize the user journey and create “touchpoints” or “moments” to tell brand stories (and drive repeat purchases!)

Here is an example of how a WeChat H5 sign-up page might look on WeChat:

So, essentially, your OFFLINE + WeChat presence are linked. Looks like we’re all sorted, right? … Mmm.. Not Really!

All of this has been done and dusted in 2015-16-17. So, what does the future hold for us in 2018?

So far retail brands in China have been content with doing just this. But now, they want more. The share of 3rd party eCommerce platforms (a la TMALL, JD, etc) have been growing for almost every major Retail brand.

This is driving some key questions:

• How can I combine data from transactions across Offline Retail stores as well as 3rd party marketplaces?
• How can I get a SINGLE VIEW of all engagement touchpoints for deeper personalisation?
• Is there a way for me to give consumers a seamless view of their”relationship” with me across all transaction and engagement channels in ONE place?

The answer to all these questions lie in tying the dots together across TMALL + WeChat + Offline Retail, all combined together with Loyalty.

Explore our completely integrated WeChat CRM platform to easily attract your brand-followers and convert them to brand-loyalists through highly personalized and relevant engagement on their favorite app.

We’ve done this already for a few of our customers in China, and the results are great!

Contact us for a demo, and see how we can enable True O2O for your brand in China!