ๅ€ŸๅŠ›ๅฐ็จ‹ๅบ ๆฒƒๅฐ”็Ž›ๆ‰ซ็ ่ดญ็”จๆˆท็ดฏ่ฎก็ ด1000ไธ‡ โ€“ Ebrun

What happened: International retail giant Walmart announced on September 10 that the total user number of its mini program โ€œScan to Buy (ๆ‰ซ็ ่ดญ)โ€ in China hit 10 million. The program was launched in April. It allows customers to skip cashier queues by scanning productsโ€™ batch codes and directly paying via digital payment software. The mini program is now available at around 300 Walmart stores in over 50 cities around China. By the end of this year, Walmart hopes to increase around 100 stores to adopt the digital solution.

Why itโ€™s important: Walmartโ€™s success in securing over 10 million users for smart retail payment signals a step Tencentโ€™s mini programs have taken to cut into Alibaba-led industry ecosystem. With more autonomous power and a platform embedded in the core product WeChat, Tencent is leveraging retail businessesโ€™ independent power to establish a diverse and flexible model which is co-existing and also competing with Alibabaโ€™s affiliates.

Runhua Zhao is a technology reporter based in Beijing. Connect with her via email: runhuazhao@ovau.ip-ddns.com

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