SHANGHAI, CHINA – Geometry China, WPP’s end-to-end Creative Commerce agency, has launched TOPPICK, a mobile based social commerce marketplace aimed to integrate brand communication and sales conversion while consumers can engage with each other socially.
What makes TOPPICK unique is that it allows individual consumers to socially interact with their private network while providing promotion and incentive information. Consumers can create their own content using product and promotion information on TOPPICK and share with their friends, aiming to increase conversions and engagement which will earn them commission for such efforts.
This is where Geometry China’s tens of thousands KOCs (Key Opinion Converters) play a crucial role. A new type of influencer, KOCs are everyday people with a minimum of a hundred social followers and a private circle of influence. They are neither paid KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) nor celebrities which is why people in their network place a high level of trust in what they say. When KOCs create and share their own content about products sold on TOPPICK – multiplied by the number of their followers – its promotional effect is much more effective than usual advertising.
As consumers increasingly avoid advertising by using ad blockers and skipping content, product information from someone you trust becomes much more reliable and valid. The rising KOC model encouraged Geometry to create its own system, Influencer Commerce Marketing (ICM), that acquires, manages and tracks the performance of KOCs per campaign. KOCs receive information on new campaigns, product launches and promotions and are able to check their commission via the system. TOPPICK will effectively leverage the agency’s proprietary ICM system to drive greater engagement across the KOC marketplace.
As a WeChat Mini Program, TOPPICK does not require users to download a separate application therefore consumers can make purchases in a closed loop transaction. Beyond this simplicity and convenience, TOPPICK also allows brands to create interactive shopping environments that drives high engagement and “retail-tainment”.
Commenting on the launch of TOPPICK, Tracy Fu, Geometry China’s CEO, said “Commerce, both online and off, remains a profoundly social event. Existing e-commerce platforms have won by leveraging the social cues that encourage conversion such as reviews and star ratings. It is therefore only natural that the next iteration of commerce be one anchored in social platforms. TOPPICK provides an exciting consumer-facing UX, while also giving brands the data they need to continuously improve that experience.”
China has 90% penetration rate of WeChat into the online population and witnessed 100.6% CAGR in social commerce over the last 5 years, presenting a optimistic outlook for TOPPICK. Geometry China plans to launch cross-border TOPPICK later this year, to help foreign brands enter the Chinese market with ease and efficiency.
