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What is a Super App?
While the above example captures the very essence of a super app well, it would be helpful to define the concept too.
A super app aggregates digital activities like payments, subscriptions, purchases, fund transfers, investments, tickets and bookings, insurance, e-commerce, etc. Another example would be Revolut, a UK-based fintech, which started as a company helping customers with their travel spending. Today, the company has developed a super app offering crypto exchange facilities, insurance, trading, and payment services.
As Danil Ovechkin, Head of US Growth at Revolut, said, “Fintechs have broken down entry barriers in financial services, which traditional banks still aren’t doing at scale. There’s been a shift (for the better) of fintechs becoming not only an app but a financial and lifestyle companion.”
The super app functionality can also extend beyond digital to incorporate ways to pay offline merchants through QR codes. A survey conducted in January 2022 revealed, “The right super app could count on an estimated 98 million day-one-users, which would drive the annual spending to over 3.25 billion U.S. dollars.
Super apps are composed of mini applets, which function inside the main app itself so users can access everything within a single interface instead of downloading multiple apps.
- One in three people in the world are super app users.
- Some super apps have added services such as booking doctor appointments, applying for visas, and filing for divorce.
- Super apps are expected to add immersive customer engagement experiences, IoT, and chatbots.
It goes without saying that any super app needs a bundle of value-added solutions that appeal to the senses of a sizable community of users. A mini super app can incorporate complementing capabilities that target similar users and solve related problems. Take, for instance, a stock brokers’ app that also offers fund management services to its users.
Why are Fintechs leveraging super apps? Why is it time to build them?
While most fintechs begin as smaller companies offering a set of niche services, their visions can get limiting over time. Consequently, as discussed above, many fintechs are now broadening their portfolios to incorporate several capabilities that fulfill any services consumers may require.
With digitalization at its peak, brick-and-mortar consumer engagement has shifted online, and full-stack services, including healthcare, travel, education, finance, and entertainment, have moved to the digital space to be sustainable, accessible, and inclusive.
One must simply browse the Play Store, and there is an app for almost everything, but it’s not what consumers are looking for. They don’t want to discover and learn how to navigate multiple apps. Instead, they want an “everything app” to engage with any service.
And that’s why fintechs are venturing out as super apps, giving traditional banks a run for their money. A recent survey found that 72% of consumers are interested in a super app. While some fintechs that started as a single offering are broadening their reach to other services, a few aggregators have created an ecosystem of experiences that appeal to a broader audience. Examples are Google, Apple, Jio, and Paypal.
- In short, super apps bring a range of services, processes, and experiences on a single app that users are already comfortable using.
- Any fintech platform with a large consumer base should consider establishing itself as a super app to combine existing data about users with new insights from their activities and interests on the app. Such data can give a more comprehensive understanding of what the consumer is looking for, enabling fintechs to tailor products and personalize services to help customers achieve precisely what they want.
- And most importantly, consumer experiences on the super app should be engaging integrated journeys and not disparate journeys or redirections, adding capabilities like loyalty programs, offers, content, etc., in tune with customer behavior.
The Current and Future of Super Apps in India
At the Q4 FY22 earnings call, Zomato’s co-founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, told analysts, “We haven’t seen the super app work in India so far, and I think the jury is still out on whether super apps….or super brands will work.”
In India, most giant conglomerates are vying for their position as super app leaders. Whether it's the Tata Group, Reliance group of industries, Amazon India, or Flipkart, they have built digital ecosystems offering multiple services. Despite that, they are yet to attain the no. 1 position or exclusivity in the game, thus commanding maximum market share.
Additionally, industry leaders must also compete with existing banks and payment companies, including HDFC Bank, SBI, PhonePe, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, that are expanding their services beyond their existing business.
With smartphone penetration and the Indian consumer internet market estimated to reach 87.7% and $1.6 Tn (consumer internet sub-sector contributing 72%) by 2030 and 2025, respectively, Indian super apps have seen exponential growth.
While Paytm is one of the oldest and perhaps the most successful super apps, MyJio and Tata Neu have come up with similar offerings, including payment services, online grocery, e-commerce, recharge options, in-app entertainment options, etc.
Keeping users glued to one app is the most challenging feat in such a large diversified economy with numerous competitors. Moreover, the need to protect data privacy may hinder the free flow of data within super apps — between mini apps and third-party integrations.
Additionally, compliance regulations and stringent industry compliances may pose obstacles in freely operating multiple mini apps from various sectors and sub-sectors.
However, the greatest pitfall of Indian super apps is that despite significant market penetration, none have been able to operate as a one-serves-all offering — losing the very essence of what a super app means.
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