Watsons China strengthens ties with customers with its WeChat Work platform launch

Watsons China has launched a new platform with WeChat Work to help customers reach out to store staff for advice and source more products.

The platform enables customers in China to add store staff as WeChat friends, transforming them into their own personal beauty consultants. Additionally, when a product is not available at a customer's nearest branch, store staff can help by ordering the item in the system and offer several methods for delivery.

"To retain our over 65 million loyal members as well as appeal to new customers, we have to be at the cutting-edge of retailing and find a way to stay close with them. With big data technology, these social commerce platforms add another dimension to our relationship with customers, enabling us to connect and interact with them, and ultimately become the most-loved brand of our customers," said Kulvinder Birring, CEO of Watsons China.

Watsons China is also planning to launch its Cloud Stores tool on the WeChat Work platform in Q1. Each of Watsons China's 3,800 stores will have a corresponding Cloud Store which will enable customers to shop across the entire Watsons China network and choose the delivery service they prefer.

As for other improvements, Watsons China's system is now able to use knowledge of individual customer preferences and shopping behaviours to send an automatic reminder to store staff, notifying them to alert customers about personalised discounts. Watsons China has also introduced its "Wilson" AI chatbot on WeChat Work, providing customers with professional and personalised advice.