"Can Super Apps Crack the Indian Market, or Will Specialization Prevail?"
What if I told you the most valuable real estate isn't in Manhattan, London, or Hong Kong? It's actually right in your pocket – your smartphone screen. Every day, thousands of companies compete for space on this small but powerful device, trying to capture your attention through their apps.
Enter the concept of Super Apps - To understand them , Think about Malls and why they became popular in India. They offered a unique experience by bringing together restaurants, hypermarkets, boutiques, multiplexes, and gaming parlors all in one place. Super Apps are the digital equivalent of malls, aiming to integrate multiple services into a single app. Apps like Alibaba , WeChat and KakaoTalk have found great success in countries like China, Vietnam, and South Korea . For users, it means more convenience, better efficiency, and potentially stronger data security (one app to protect instead of twenty). For companies, it's a game-changer too - helping companies reduce customer acquisition costs and boost revenue by cross-selling . Before we declare Super Apps the future of digital services , Let’s dive into the other side of the story .
While Super Apps have thrived in countries like China, where the internet ecosystem is somewhat isolated, they haven’t fared as well in India, as seen with Tata Neu . The main reason for the initial struggles of Super Apps in India is market saturation. India's digital landscape is already crowded. Each service category - from food delivery to payments - has established players who've spent years (and billions) building their user base . Additionally, Indian consumers tend to be highly value-conscious, show little brand loyalty, and have diverse needs . In past , Indian customers have always preffered specialization over Super apps . For instance, WhatsApp has 500 million users in India, and when it launched WhatsApp Payments, it was expected to be a huge success. However, it ended up capturing only 0.1% of the market share . Also Super Apps have faced difficulties such as technical glitches and overloading issues . Does that mean Super Apps are doomed to fail in India?
There are also some examples of Super apps which were able to perform in India . MakeMyTrip (MMT) began as an online platform primarily for booking air tickets. However, many users didn’t mind visiting airline websites to make their bookings . To enhance its offerings, MMT expanded to include hotel bookings, tapping into the vast number of available accommodations. Eventually, it also started offering complete holiday packages, effectively evolving into a travel Super App. A similar story can be seen with Swiggy . Perhaps this highlights an important aspect of what defines a Super App: excelling in one specific area rather than trying to be a jack of all trades.
