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Today’s Super Apps: The Market Landscape

Imran Vilcassim Nov 8, 2022 8:33:57 AM

The Super Apps phenomenon may have originated in Asia, but the West is also developing Super Apps, albeit with slight differences and at a slower pace.

While western app development has historically been based on consumer preferences for separate, specialist services, there’s a growing trend for rebundling services – a need that Super Apps can solve with their convenient, comprehensive design.

In the second part of our Super Apps series, we’re looking at how they differ between the East and the West and the top use cases from around the globe.   

What does the current market landscape look like?

With the development of more Super Apps offering more and more services, competition is a driver for many companies looking to develop their own. Building their own Super Apps means they don’t have to rely on third-party providers to add different services and can strengthen their own proposition against competing players.

The boundaries between sectors and use cases are increasingly blurred, particularly regarding financial services. Consumers expect seamless journeys from apps, and if they have to leave an app to complete a purchase, interrupting their journey, there’s a higher chance of them not returning.

Embedding financial services within a brand’s own app gives a more coherent customer experience, and the growth of fintech has allowed more companies to do this.  And in fact, some advanced Super Apps are already developing fintech propositions with greater levels of complexity to add to their offerings – things like lending solutions.  

The difference between Super Apps in the East and West

The market landscape in China was largely shaped by the government artificially reducing competition, meaning apps were developed to broaden their reach by offering more services and use cases. Apps in the West, however, were generally created to specialise in just one use case, then scaling by increasing their customer bases.

Convenience is key in eastern countries, with consumers preferring one single app for multiple uses, even if the technical side (loading times, user interface/experience) isn’t as great. European and North American consumers are more concerned with speed and CX, preferring to use multiple fast and intuitive apps to carry out online activities.

This means that Super Apps for western audiences need a tailored strategy rather than simply following the way apps in the East have found successful.

Here are some of the most popular Super App use cases from around the world:

APAC

Grab: Originally launched in 2012 as an online taxi service in Malaysia, Grab now serves 6 countries with deliveries, mobility, financial services, and more. It debuted on the NASDAQ at a valuation of $40 billion in 2021.

Union nxt: Union Bank of India’s mobile banking app, Union nxt offers multiple different services to the bank’s customers. As well as standard services, the app has enhanced digital offerings for functions like liabilities, loans, and wealth management.

Global

Uber: The world’s biggest ride sharing company, Uber added UberEats to its offerings in 2014. Uber’s Super App strategy is narrower than eastern counterparts, with a smaller but well-defined set of use cases.  

Latin America

Rappi: Launched in 2015 in Colombia as a food and grocery delivery platform, Rappi expanded its use cases to offer a wider range of complementary services as its customer base grew.

This is only the start of the Super App. Big tech, ride hailing, or food apps led the pack, but more specialised Super Apps are on the way, and the fintech/banking industry won’t be spared.

Look out for the next article in our series, where we’ll look at better understanding the key trend specific to each region. 

New call-to-actionIf you’re interested in finding out how to build your own Super App, check out our SmartVista digital banking and super apps platform.