The evolution of super apps

The evolution of super apps

In 2010, Blackberry founder Mike Lazaridis introduced the term ‘super app’. In his words, a super app offers “a closed ecosystem of many apps that people would use every day because forward they offer such a seamless, integrated, contextualised and efficient experience.”¹

Fast forward a decade, and super apps have boomed in Asia, with giants like China’s WeChat² and AliPay,³ Singapore and Malaysia’s Grab,⁴ and Indonesia’s GoJek⁵ leading the charge. Active WeChat users now total 1.2 billion worldwide.⁶ These numbers will keep growing as super apps continue to impact the global future of commerce.

• 6.684 billion - people in the world use a smartphone ⁷
• 1.2 billion - people in the world actively use WeChat ⁸

Here’s what brands need to know about the evolution of super apps.

What are super apps, and why do consumers love them?

Consumers expect convenience, and their demand increases as technology evolves. In the mobile app landscape, super apps are the pinnacle of convenience. Rather than downloading multiple apps, super apps give users a full suite of commerce and communication services in one package. And all at their fingertips.

Here are some services super apps offer:

• Digital wallet and payments
• Food delivery
• Ridesharing
• Hotel booking
• Insurance
• Messaging
• Online dating
• Gaming
• Social media

Super apps: the beginning and the boom

The rise of super apps began with Tencent’s WeChat in 2011. Like most super apps, it was first developed to offer a single function. WeChat started as an instant messaging app before it boomed into a multi-purpose platform.

China’s status as a mobile-first economy boosted WeChat’s blockbuster expansion, but the app’s customisability and the convenience it offers drove its widespread adoption.

In 2017, WeChat launched mini programs⁹, which are lightweight apps created by third-party developers. Users can download mini programs and customise their WeChat interface according to their lifestyle and commerce needs, from gaming to online shopping. Today, there are over 3.2 million mini programs⁹ on WeChat, going shoulder-to-shoulder with the number of apps available on the Google Play and Apple App Stores. WeChat has become its own seamless ecosystem.¹⁰

In Southeast Asia, a transport service known as Grab took off one year after WeChat’s launch. Grab started as a ride-hailing and ride-sharing mobile service in 2012. After rapid regional expansion, it evolved into a super app circa 2016.¹¹ Grab had the infrastructure for its super app status in place, it just needed to become a centralised app for its users’ lifestyle needs.

Payments were the first service outside of transportation that Grab launched in 2017, with their in-app e-wallet, GrabPay.¹² A year later, their food delivery service, GrabFood, debuted. Today, Grab has over 187 million users,¹² with more offerings to come.

Super apps in Europe

Although super apps are mainstream for mobile users in Asia-Pacific, Europe is much slower on the uptake. But the next few years could pave the way for a super app revolution.

Payments could be the most efficient gateway to expose Europeans to the all-in-one convenience of super apps. For one, the region is already familiar with AliPay thanks to its frequent use by Chinese tourists.¹³ There is also a growing preference for mobile payments among European shoppers,¹⁴ which could prime the market for an all-in-one finance app.

PayPal is ahead of the curve gearing up to become a fully-fledged super app, offering financial tools, educational material on crypto together with the ability to buy, hold and sell crypto¹⁵, bill payments, and peer-to-peer fund transfers via Venmo (US only). An in-app shopping section, with personalised deals and perks for shoppers¹⁶ is also on the horizon.