Visionmobile: Future growth of mobile instant messaging lies in e-commerce

What are the ways to make money with mobile instant messaging? This article will show you how to make money with the world's popular instant applications.

When it comes to instant messaging applications, there are two main business models: selling apps (paid apps or built-in value-added services) and selling users. The most popular business models in the world are shown in the figure below:

• WeChat's revenue sources: This year, Tencent WeChat's revenue of $1.1 billion is estimated to be 85% from mobile games. The rest comes from emoticons, sponsored accounts, and mobile e-commerce revenue.
• Line's revenue: Games accounted for 60% of Line's total revenue of $338 million in 2013. Another 20% came from the sale of emoticons, and the rest came from public account service revenue and brand emoticon customization revenue. Line is also actively exploring e-commerce services such as flash sales, hot sales, and supermarkets.
• WhatsApp’s subscription model: Interestingly, WhatsApp adopts a subscription charging model, charging an annual fee.

The rise of mobile e-commerce models

It’s no surprise that e-commerce has become a key model for these instant messaging applications. Here are the reasons:

First, users are increasingly accustomed to shopping on their mobile phones. Mobile currently accounts for 1/4 of e-commerce traffic and is the fastest growing e-commerce sector. On the Internet, e-commerce is a trillion-dollar business, far larger than advertising. Even the revenue from games, gambling, SAAS, streaming media and other applications pales in comparison to e-commerce. It is foreseeable that the same situation will occur in the mobile sector.

Gradually, as more and more users access the Internet, netizens from third- and fourth-tier cities may become more dependent on mobile e-commerce.

Mobile e-commerce is also a good option for developers. E-commerce is considered one of the most profitable profit models for mobile developers. According to VisionMobie's survey data, e-commerce sales as a profit model option increased from 5% in Q3 2013 to 8% in Q1 2014.

via: 199IT compiled from VisionMobile