What Super Apps Need to Be a Success

By Daphna Ofek is the Chief Product Officer at Rakuten Viber 

You may have seen the term super app popping up everywhere you look. From WeChat to Grab, super apps have become massively popular across Asia and more recently, platforms used in the west have been expanding their capabilities to achieve this new ‘super app’ status. Mark Zuckerberg has chimed into this super app conversation and TechCrunch even shared an article discussing which app will dominate the space: Twitter, Paypal or Walmart. But what even is a super app, what determines its success, and can there be more than one?

What is a super app?

There are thousands of apps on the market, some more popular than others depending on the region. But wherever you are, users share the common desire for simplicity and ultimately a one-stop shop (app) to get everything they need. From social media to payment services, business features and more. This is where the super app soars!

Tackle the day-to-day essentials

For a super app to be successful, it must recognize what the average user gets up to on a day-to-day basis. The more tasks that an app can accomplish on one platform, the stronger the super app gets. Think of the actions one does numerous times a day, and that is your answer. Users communicate via messages and calls, consume the latest news, purchase goods or services, receive receipts of purchases, track the shipping of a product, transfer money and so much more. The expansion of this list and the opportunities it holds is endless. This is what makes some super apps stronger than others. It isn’t a status of it either is or it isn’t a super app, but rather a scale of how strong the super app can become and to how large of a population. 

Multiple paths to achieving super app status

There are multiple routes for a provider to take to reach super app status. The first avenue is a single company developing all the technology in-house. The more new services a platform develops, the bigger the team is required to not only develop the product but to ensure the service remains stable and ongoing. This introduces the challenge of execution speed, time to market and multidisciplinary expertise. If another platform achieves significant market share for a specific service while yours is still in production, it may prove difficult to get users to make the leap to a new platform. 

Alternatively, and the more common way it is done, is through mergers, acquisitions or partnerships that glue a number of services together under a single umbrella of an app. This can occasionally limit deeper integrations and create an ununified user experience if not implemented correctly. Each application presents a different style, so having too many under one roof is a recipe for a disjointed app.

Focus on privacy and security 

The more services that are offered on a platform, the more data is being shared and circulated by a user and the more sensitive the data may be. Not only are users’ personal data at risk, but so are their finances. This heightens the concern about data breaches and puts data privacy and cybersecurity at a top priority. You can only imagine how attractive such a company can become to hackers, spammers, and fraud experts and how much time, energy, and resources are dedicated by app developers to block and fight them. 

A successful super app will have a structured and responsible approach toward privacy with multiple features in place, like two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. When launching new features, place the focus on clarity and transparency within the terms and conditions. Also, provide users with choices as to when and where their data is shared. Super apps have the opportunity to actually create a more privacy-centric platform by explaining to users that their data will not be spread between multiple places, therefore increasing security breach vectors. 

There can be more than one super app 

The super app industry isn’t a zero-sum game as every company that strives to be successful will try to constantly gain more services, users and market share in their target regions. The market is super dynamic and always changing. If a particular service is dramatically superior on another platform, it can cause cracks in the already existing super app, as users may make the leap to a new service. One strong service can help gradually gain momentum and expand both the company’s user base and the services offered. As long as there is a free market and people willing to use multiple apps on their phones, the super app arena is open for business. 

But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Meaning, the platform’s relationship with its users, and its ability to connect the dots between services will be the secret to its success. Having a greater overview of a user’s digital lifecycle will allow the application to provide services that are more personalized, relevant and accurate. It also means that if one of the services offered is below the accepted user level, the super app is weakened as a whole.

In the west, we more often see standalone apps that specialize in single services. While done extremely well, the movement towards more services under one roof is changing the approach of many application developers. The focus in the industry as we speak is shifting to a superior end-to-end user experience. The big players within the application industry are aware of the business potential. Once users experience the added value of a one-stop shop app without compromising on service quality, the magic of the super app will occur.

About the author: 

Daphna Ofek is the Chief Product Officer at Rakuten Viber, overseeing the company’s product strategy and implementation. With over 20 years of experience in the tech product industry, she has worked for leading tech companies such as Google Waze, and WIX, and most recently held the positions of Vice President of Product Management and Growth at BigID and Growth Partner at AnD Ventures. Specializing in growth in web and mobile applications, Daphna is an experienced strategist and team leader with a proven track record of business development successes. Daphna lives and works in Israel.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.