12 February 2017

Starbucks and Weixin launch social gifting feature

Source Starbucks. Starbucks and Weixin launch social  gifting feature.
Source Starbucks. Starbucks and Weixin launch a new social
gifting feature.
用星说 (say it with 'stars', ie Starbucks), a new social gifting feature on China mobile social communications service Weixin, has been launched. The move follows a strategic partnership announcement between Starbucks and Tencent in December 2016.

The service allows users to instantly gift a Starbucks beverage or digital gift card to others. “Our new social gifting feature aims to deepen the shared moments of connection by allowing our customers to express their love, concern and gratitude, with the gift of Starbucks, to the people most important to them,” said Belinda Wong, CEO, Starbucks China.

"By leveraging the power and reach of Weixin, we want to encourage everyday simple acts of kindness to put a smile on someone’s face at any time or place, while elevating the unique Starbucks Experience beyond our retail stores in China.”

During the initial launch period, Weixin offers a shortcut to 用星说 users within its Weixin Wallet-function, demonstrating the significance of the strategic partnership to both companies. The Starbucks China Weixin official account will provide permanent access to the social gifting feature.

Users will be able to select from a carefully curated selection of Starbucks-branded gifts and add a personalised message in the form of text, image or video. Gifts are saved in the recipient’s Weixin app and can be redeemed at any Starbucks store on mainland China.

“This is the beginning of an exciting social gifting journey for Starbucks. During the trial phase two weeks ago, our partners (employees) and many Starbucks customers became the first in China to experience this innovation and have conveyed tens of thousands of gestures of love, gratitude and care to their friends and loved ones,” said Molly Liu, VP, China Digital Ventures, Starbucks.

“We are looking forward to inspire even more of our customers to show their love and appreciation through ‘Say it with Starbucks.’ Meanwhile, we will continue to enhance the social gifting experience to celebrate important festivals and holidays in China and the special moments in our customers’ lives.”

A sister product of WeChat, Weixin targets Chinese domestic users, and together, the platform has 846 million global monthly active users as of Q316.

Interested?

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post about Starbucks' partnership with Tencent for gifting