Wal-Mart China has introduced WeChat Pay enabling smartphone users to order online for in-store pickup.
It means millions of Chinese shoppers can now check out in more than 100 Wal-Mart stores in China by using a mobile payment feature within WeChat. Users show a barcode within the app to a cashier, who scans it to verify the payment.
Wal-Mart’s loyalty program offers deals to members and lets them share these with their connections.
Also through the app, Wal-Mart shoppers can buy a gift card and send it to a friend who can use it in Wal-Mart stores.
Wal-Mart, which launched in China in 2010, manages 433 stores and 20 fulfillment centres on the mainland.