Did you know that 388 cars were sold on Chinese social app WeChat in just three minutes? Experts say China is a whole 10 years ahead of the West when it comes to social commerce; the technology that powers it at this scale is unparalleled and there is a lot to learn from it. China is now the biggest smartphone (and probably e-commerce) market in the world and its users continue to rapidly adopt new behaviours. So rapidly in fact, that most national brands and research firms in China are hesitant about publishing consumer trend surveys, because by the time it comes out, it’s already out-dated!

Other parts of the world should be trying to study how technology is affecting Chinese consumer behaviour. Their mobile behaviours could help signal the type of apps and services for phones that Western marketers need to make available to keep consumers engaged.