If WeChat declines, who will replace it? Big guesses about the Internet in 2018

Where will the major domestic Internet companies focus their strategies in 2018? We try to make some predictions. If it’s different from what you think, that’s fine, because it just means that we have different perspectives.

Alibaba will push new retail to a climax in 2018

In 2017, Alibaba launched a new retail boom with considerable actions. In 2018, the focus will be on implementation, summary and improvement. Moreover, we will also see that these chess moves arranged by Jack Ma are likely to gradually take shape, thus pushing the new retail to a climax.

However, Alibaba's main goal in 2018 is still to go overseas, and to buy from the world. China will also hold its first import commodity fair. These are all major trends. The pace of globalization of small and medium-sized enterprises will accelerate, and logistics will also speed up. Jack Ma's main work may be in this regard. It is not impossible for Jack Ma to hold a global dinner in Wuzhen next year.

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Tencent's main focus in 2018 will be on dealing with internal disputes

In 2017, Tencent invested as much as it could, and it is said that it invested in more than 100 companies, and also formed an anti-Ali alliance. After this series of actions, what needs to be done is internal digestion and governance. However, it is easy to build an empire, but it is difficult to maintain it. In particular, the heads of companies in the Tencent system are not willing to rely on others. Meituan and Didi have already opened fire, and JD.com and 58 are no longer harmonious. The main task of Tencent and Ma Huateng in 2018 will be to put out fires.

Of course, Tencent's business is also very critical. Honor of Kings is obviously no longer as powerful as it used to be. Tencent needs to cultivate and find the next national game that is stronger than Honor of Kings, otherwise the year-on-year data will be very ugly. WeChat has gone through a year of failure. None of the new features it has promoted have been successful. Gold red envelopes, face-to-face payments, change management, and mini-programs have not made much progress, which has put a sharp increase in pressure on the WeChat team in 2018. Tencent's business development routine of internal competition for positions is facing the dilemma of insufficient strategy and lack of synergy. If it cannot change and adapt to the new situation, it will be difficult to keep up with the pace of its opponents even if it continues to stick to the strategy it imitated later.

Ant Financial’s strategy in 2018 should be to look outward

Alipay staged a comeback in 2017, with the direct result that its competitors could no longer receive high-profile year-end awards. The introduction of the red envelope scanning model allowed Alipay to gain a position at the end of the year that it had never had in the past few years. Relying on its heritage and strength, Alipay found a way to achieve high frequency in multiple dimensions, pointing the way for the entire industry.

Ant Financial already has hundreds of millions of "Alipay" customers overseas, and once they are connected, a huge new financial landscape spanning the globe will be completed, which will be good news for the Chinese economy and a milestone in global development. Consolidating the domestic position, advancing third- and fourth-tier cities, and developing overseas markets will likely be China's first truly globalized Internet business to complete a global presence.

Baidu continues to run wild on artificial intelligence in 2018

Baidu's future is all about artificial intelligence. After cutting off all the burdens, Baidu stabilized market expectations in 2017, its stock price rebounded, its popularity began to recover, and the entire company regained the spirit of BAT.

It is really difficult to analyze Baidu. Everything depends on the progress of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. Success depends on human efforts.

JD.com needs more than just fighting in 2018

JD.com undoubtedly spent 2017 fighting hard. The entire company, from top to bottom, was like a chicken blood. At the beginning of the year, it shouted that it would surpass Tmall in three years, which was interpreted by the media as surpassing Alibaba. Then, on Double 11, they fought each other in media public relations and business. As a result, Tmall's speed increased and Suning did not withdraw from the Suqian market. Although such a public opinion war successfully pushed JD.com to the front line in the past few years, it also had great side effects. Now that JD.com has grown bigger, it needs great courage and wisdom (601519, stock bar).

From the perspective of its own strength, JD.com still needs to rely on Tencent's traffic and has no ability to challenge large platforms, or even overthrow Alibaba. Moreover, Tencent, as the largest shareholder, does not want JD.com to become its shadow. Therefore, what JD.com needs to do is to accurately position itself, make its business a mechanism, and then copy it, and it will still be a great JD.com. Even if the opponent is worth 2 trillion, if you are also worth 500 billion, it is actually a success. Why do you have to kill the opponent?

Other companies in 2018 need luck

360 is doing well. It finally completed the backdoor listing before the end of the year. It can put its money where its mouth is in 2018 and reap the profits in the A-share market easily. This is the first real Internet giant in the domestic capital market. Just wait to make a fortune.

Didi had a bad year in 2017 and was suppressed in various ways. It has lost its limelight, but it is likely to usher in a new round of subsidy wars in 2018. If this happens, the taxi industry will be integrated by giants, Didi is likely to be dragged into the abyss, and its rival Meituan will not be the winner.

Meituan has high ambitions, but none of its businesses are its moat. Lack of core business is the biggest problem of this company. In other words, it can attack but cannot retreat. Meituan has made various attacks, and it seems to have gained something, but it is difficult to go further. In 2018, if Meituan cannot completely defeat its competitors in a certain field, it may be counterattacked on all fronts and have no way to defend itself.

Toutiao was very successful in 2017, but suffered a setback at the end of the year. It needs to think carefully about how to adapt to the Chinese Internet. Looking into the future, Toutiao's model is still not a good model. It can be successful, but it cannot be spread out. Living well is victory, and there is no need to become the king or the tyrant.

In 2018, China is expected to welcome 5G, which will be an era of great changes. The heroes of the past will need to be eliminated by the waves, and the winner will be the king. In the 5G era, the links between people and things will be reset. WeChat is the most dangerous challenger, and the success of mini programs will determine the overall pattern of China's Internet in the next ten years. We predict that in 2018, WeChat's challenger will be born. Although we don't know who he is, we know that he is already there.