Chances are, you use a single device – your mobile phone – for various daily tasks. With a few taps, you can message friends, share photos, order a pizza, hail a cab, or pay your bills.
The rise of super apps makes it even easier. You can do all those things and more in just one app.
Super apps are common in Asia and Latin America, but in places like Europe and the USA the trend is only just beginning.
In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about creating a super app strategy, and what features you could include.
Reloadly’s APIs can help you provide more value for your app users. Speak to our team to discover how.
What are super apps?
Super apps might just be the future of mobile, as user preferences shift towards multi-purpose apps. So what exactly is a super app?
Put simply, super apps are mobile or web apps providing several services or features under one roof. Users can do many different things with a single account, using different “mini-apps” inside the app.
They are like a marketplace of different services, which can be created in-house or by third parties. Features often include payment processing, e-commerce, chat, shopping, and home delivery. Some include social media and financial services as well.
A common strategy for creating a super app is to create single-purpose app and expand your services over time as the app’s popularity grows. One of the many benefits to using APIs to do this is that you can easily develop more functions and revenue streams for your app.
How do super apps work?
Super apps are closed digital ecosystems which contain a variety of separate, mini apps that serve different purposes. They are built on a platform model so each mini app can be customized. Despite the different capabilities, the app as a whole should have a cohesive user experience and brand.
Super apps could be built on Platform as a Service (PaaS), a cloud development and deployment system that allows developers to build any kind of app they require on top of an existing foundation of code.
How users benefit from super apps
The key to a successful super app strategy is convenience.
Users can access a wide variety of services and entertainment within a single app, where they only need to use a single login. The app carries their information, so transactions are incredibly easy. When users have their banking details, addresses, search history, and purchases stored in the same place, it’s easy to find what they need and buy things seamlessly.
Mobile payments are becoming increasingly common, and are a key feature of super apps. So, if you’re chatting to a friend and need to send them money, you can do that in the app. Or, if you’re browsing an online store and want to buy something, you can do so without having to pull out your wallet, enter your card details or open your banking app to provide authentication.
In some places, super apps are the only option available. In China, for example, Facebook, Whatsapp, and many other apps are banned, so people use WeChat for social media, messaging, and much more.
Even where other apps are available, people gravitate to the tools everyone else is using. If all your friends are chatting, sharing content, and shopping on WeChat, you won’t want to miss out on those conversations.
Many of us are used to opening our phones and searching through many apps to find the one we need. We are constantly opening and closing different apps during the day, but super apps do away with all this clutter, giving you a simple platform for everything.
Examples of super apps
Super apps usually start with a particular service in one market. Over time, demand grows and they branch out to incorporate more and more services.
Here are some of the most popular super apps in the world today.
Launched in 2011, WeChat began as a WhatsApp-style messaging app and has since expanded to include all kinds of different services.
As well as both business and personal communication, WeChat users can play games, share images, videos, status updates, and story-style “moments”. They can shop and pay for services, order food in a restaurant, pay bills, send money, and even book a doctor’s appointment.
There are an incredible 3.2 million micro apps built inside WeChat. The app has 1.2 billion monthly active users, including 78% of people in China aged 16-64.
GoJek
Indonesian super app Gojek began in 2009 as a call center helping consumers with courier and taxi services. It’s now a super app offering more than 20 services, including ride-sharing, shopping, taxis, and services. You can book a massage, haircut, home cleaning, and more through the app.
Gojek operates in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. It’s Indonesia’s first unicorn company with a multi-billion dollar valuation.
Paytm
Paytm is an Indian fintech super app. It provides a wide variety of mobile payment and banking services for its 350 million active users.
The app partners with financial institutions to offer micro-loans and lines of credit to consumers and merchants. In addition, Paytm also offers mobile airtime, ticketing services, retail brokerage, and online games.
Features of a super app
If you’re going to build a super app, there are certain things that your app needs to have.
Here are some criteria of a successful super app:
Seamless user experience
Users are looking for a seamless experience, so they can complete their tasks effortlessly.
The whole idea is that they don’t need to jump in and out of totally different apps to do all this. To create a seamless experience, your UX should be consistent, simple, and enjoyable to navigate between different functions within the app.
Efficiency
Super apps should save time for their users and make it easy to do everyday tasks. When using a super app you don’t have to spend time searching for services or deciding on which apps to use, because everything is in one place.
The app should be reliable and fast to make using it as efficient as possible.
Integration
In order to satisfy the need for convenience, the user experience of super apps has to be seamless. If each separate functionality requires different logins and has a totally different interface to navigate, users could just as easily be using different apps.
A true super app should be able to perform many different functions while giving the user a consistent experience.
Accessibility
If you are developing a super app you are aiming for wide adoption. You are not targeting a particular niche but rather populations as a whole. Therefore, your app needs to be inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible.
It needs to be accessible to all social groups, regardless of economic status or age, and people with disabilities. Including different accessibility options to cater to these groups can help more people adopt your app.
Privacy
Privacy is a concern for users, because super apps hold a lot of sensitive information. People want to be sure their financial information and sensitive data are safe from hackers and won’t be misused. Companies that can offer some level of privacy are more likely to gain people’s trust.
WeChat does not offer encryption on messages, meaning third parties could access data and intercept messages. This hasn’t stopped the app from becoming the most popular super app in China, however, in many Western countries, people are more hesitant to use apps where messages aren’t encrypted.
5 Keys to Build a Super App Strategy
There might not be much chance of an app replacing WeChat any time soon, and few companies will reach the extreme levels of Gojek’s multi-billion dollar success.
It may take years of innovation and expansion to create a super app, but you can start your super app strategy now by creating new revenue streams.
Here are some additional features you can consider providing for customers:
1. Provide an airtime top-up service
In many emerging markets, mobile airtime top-up is used as a form of currency. It’s a great alternative in countries where local currency is unstable and fluctuating, and it’s more accessible for unbanked populations.
Including an airtime top-up service in your app can be an easy way to allow users to top up their mobiles, send money, and complete transactions globally.
With Reloadly’s mobile airtime API, you can connect to hundreds of mobile operators worldwide to send airtime locally and internationally.
2. Sell digital gift cards
You can provide an option for users to purchase and transfer digital gift cards.
By integrating Reloadly’s API, your business can sell digital gift cards for a catalog of 300 global retailers.
Gift cards work well with your incentives and rewards strategies. Our API allows you to create automated bulk orders in a few seconds.
3. Allow mobile transfers and bill payment
One thing that almost all super apps have in common is payment features.
To elevate your tool to super app status, implement a payment processing capability. This will allow your users to seamlessly pay for services and transfer money inside the app.
You can easily do this with Reloadly’s Mobile Remittances API which allows for mobile cross-border payments which are accessible, fast, and secure.
4. Create a platform to book services
Connect your app with local businesses to allow users to book tables in restaurants, appointments in beauty salons, hairdressers, car mechanics, and more.
These kinds of local services are highly useful. You can take a commission on the bookings, companies are incentivized to join as they can increase their business.
5. Build a community
Another strategy for creating a successful super app is to build a community based around your tool. This creates loyal users and followers who will spread the word and stay with you as you grow.
You might do this by building chat features, commenting, reviews, social sharing, user-generated content, or similar.
Design your super app strategy with Reloadly
Whether you want to build a super app or just expand your current offering, adding on new services is a great strategy. You can get started today – just sign up to Reloadly for free and get your free API keys.
By using an API to connect with other services, you don’t have to code everything from scratch.
We can help you expand your offering and deliver more value to your app users. Speak to our team to discover how.
