Xiao’e Pinpin joins Tencent’s eCommerce efforts letting WeChat users buy lifestyle products through WeChat

Tencent rolled out Xiao’e Pinpin, a new mini-program meant for social commerce on WeChat that Tencent has made available to all of its 1.1 billion users.

The mini-program went online on 29 April. It carries a giant catalogue of lifestyle products, including lipsticks and iPhones. This play marks Tencent’s most recent move in China’s e-commerce sector. Previously, Tencent had invested in tech companies like JD.com and Pinduoduo, as well as supermarket chain operator Yonghui.

Xiao’e Pinpin uses a “content feed” to showcase its merchandise. It shows one merchant’s product details which are followed by goods from a different vendor. Two slots are reserved at the top of the feed for special promotions. As of now, the mini-program hosts more than a 100 shops. Goods on sale are uncategorized, without any search functions. At the moment, it is unclear how the mini program’s algorithm determines the order in which products appear on feeds.