Weverse Announces '2023 Fandom Trends'
Nearly 20% Are Superfans Visiting Over 20 Days Monthly
Weverse Shop Merch Delivered as Far as Uruguay on the Other Side of the Globe
K-pop fans worldwide have visited Weverse on average once every three days this year. Additionally, Treasure's Jihoon has visited Weverse for 324 consecutive days this year. Merchandise sold on Weverse has even been delivered as far as Uruguay, on the opposite side of the globe.
Weverse Company revealed these details on the 21st in the '2023 Weverse Fandom Trend' report. Users' average monthly usage time on Weverse this year was about 250 minutes, a 46% increase from 171 minutes last year. The average monthly visit days also rose by 10.4% to 10.2 days compared to 9.2 days a year ago. 'Superfans' who visit more than 20 days per month accounted for nearly 20% of the total users.
90% of the Platform Users Are Overseas
The passion of K-pop fandoms worldwide remained strong this year. Since surpassing 10 million monthly active users (MAU) at the end of July, Weverse maintained an average of 10.5 million users in the third quarter, steadily increasing. As of November, the app's cumulative downloads reached 113 million. Weverse users are spread across 245 countries and regions, with over 90% being overseas users.
The countries with the highest increase in new users this year were South Korea, China, the Philippines, Brazil, and India. The highest growth rates were seen in Central Asian regions such as China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Another notable point is the increase in resident artists from 71 teams last year to 117 teams this year, an addition of 46 teams. Especially in September, 13 teams from SM Entertainment joined, significantly strengthening the artist lineup. Unlike the early days focused mainly on singers, there has been a large increase in actors joining, including Kim Myungsoo (El), Kim Seonho, Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Jin-hyuk, Lee Sung-kyung, Ahn Hyo-seop, Jang Ki-yong, Son Na-eun, and others. Overseas artists such as Japanese idol groups AKB48 and Imase also joined in large numbers.
Live Usage Rate Quadrupled Compared to Last Year
Artist activities on Weverse were also active. 'Kingdom,' 'Treasure,' and 'Secret Number' have each visited Weverse for a total of 324 consecutive days this year, using Weverse as their 'daily platform.' Posts including moments, posts, and comments written by artists on Weverse have exceeded 160,000 this year.
'Weverse Live' was held 4,310 times, four times more than last year, totaling 3,600 hours. The cumulative number of views in 2023 reached 750 million. The artist who held the most Weverse Live sessions was Golden Child (216 times), the longest live session was by Fromis_9 (169 hours), and the live with the highest views was BTS Jungkook's 'Have You Been Well?' with 16.3 million views.
Weverse Shop Merchandise Purchased Even in Uruguay on the Opposite Side of the Earth
Weverse is expanding fan activities beyond community functions to commerce and video content viewing. The Weverse Shop, which sells artist merchandise, recorded over 18.3 million sales this year. The average number of purchases per user is 7.7 items. The farthest delivery location was Uruguay, 20,000 km away from South Korea, with 182 items sold. Deliveries were also made for single customers in countries such as Laos and Madagascar.
There were 69 online concerts held, 21 more than last year, averaging 6.3 concerts per month. The cumulative number of viewers this year reached 835,470. Choi Junwon, CEO of Weverse Company, said, "Among countless apps, the fandom platform being frequently used between artists and fans shows the market's growth potential. We will continue to grow by offering new services and fan culture for fans and artists."
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