Are Super Apps becoming the new norm for enterprise eCommerce?

A Super App is a bouquet of mini apps where you can do multiple tasks like book a movie ticket, book a ride and make payments, all from a single app. No need to hop between different apps and log in to execute these individual tasks. 

It’s super fast and convenient for the end-user, isn’t it?

Wait! Doesn’t it sound like a super mall where you can hang out with friends at a cafe, enjoy competing in the GameZone, shop for some clothes for a party, and watch the latest movie at night?

These giant malls bring all lifestyle stuff together to make you spend that extra bit of time, which generally results in more spending.

That’s the model Super Apps are trying to replicate on your smartphones. One God-like app bulldozing 9 to 10 single-task apps on your home screen. 

The rise of Super Apps

This trend to plug-in multiple mini-apps under one roof began well back in 2010 when WeChat, an instant messaging app, started clubbing relevant mini-apps like social networking, baking, and more for its 200 million-plus user base in China.

Today, the app is used by over 1 billion users for social gaming, mobile payments, money transfer, taking out loans, and even filing for divorce!

The Western and Asian world soon adopted the Super App culture, with Snapchat introducing video calls, social gaming, and eCommerce apps in addition to its picture-sharing feature. Gojek in Indonesia is another wealthy example of a Super App storm worldwide.

Reasons why Super Apps are becoming so popular

Closed data ecosystems: A Super App's most significant advantage is collecting many first-party data! With the collection and use of third-party data under severe scrutiny, brands can’t afford to sit back and moan about not having enough data to serve personalized experiences.

Multiple revenue opportunities at least cost: Super Apps enables enterprises to capitalize on the audience they have built over the years. They can extract more value from existing audiences at low or zero customer acquisition costs by exposing them to new and convenient ways to use the app.

Increased customer lifetime: Super Apps can keep customers engaged at multiple touch points, which directly helps in retaining customers for the long run and generating the highest revenues during the time they spend on the app.

With such tremendous advantages and a rapidly growing m-commerce market, more and more enterprises will consider going super in the coming years.

Divyesh Wani

Divyesh is a senior copywriter at ewiz commerce, responsible for creating original content and distribution strategies for website, social, and paid marketing channels. He keeps track of hot digital trends and latest technology stuff and likes writing digestible stories around AI and eCommerce space.