Super apps: catching on via baby steps rather than a single bound in the West

What is a super app? It’s a one-stop shop for many services forming a closed eco-system that contains mini-apps. Users can conduct a range of tasks from food ordering and ride hailing to travel booking, social messaging and making payments all from one app.

With all these capabilities located in one place, the user’s smartphone screen avoids a chaotic clutter of apps – less is more. If you want an analogy in the physical world, think Swiss Army knife or the Leatherman multi-purpose tool. The appeal is obvious when you think the average smartphone user has at least 40 apps installed on their device and this number is growing.

The original super app concept is attributed to the Chinese app WeChat. This started as a social messaging app in 2011 and owner Tencent rapidly added more capabilities and partners. Now it has more than 1.3 billion monthly active users with two-thirds of the figure based in China.

But unless you’ve travelled into Asia, Latin America and further afield you may not be aware of the super app phenomenon. Names like Yandex, Grab or Rappi are as familiar as the Coca-Cola brand to Russians, Malaysians or Mexicans – just not so much in Western Europe and the U.S.

So, why haven’t super apps taken off in the West at the same velocity – and will they ever?

A combination of psychological behaviours, different market conditions and tighter regulatory frameworks have all contributed to a slow start for Western super apps.

Consumer concerns around data and privacy protection in Western countries play a part – such apps do harvest a lot of user data with little transparency. Layer on top the more stringent regulatory requirements in Europe regarding GDPR observation and similar restraints in other territories and you can see the challenge.

Also, there is the contrast between the homogeneity of user in Asia and the way different Western demographics interact with digital services and content. While one form of user experience might fit the majority of Malaysian or Chinese, the same can’t be said of the more individualistic Western populace. Over sixties might not want the same tone of voice or product design as Gen Z.

But perhaps the biggest barrier is the sheer sensory overload and apparent complexity of navigation of super apps.

Bewilderment is often the first reaction to opening a multi-service app. ‘Less is more’ can become inverted and the sheer amount of ‘stuff’ you see on one app can lead to decision paralysis.

It’s a busy, hyper-kinetic environment where automatic video might start up suddenly and advertisements shout for your attention. Navigation seems – even if it actually isn’t – challenging.

The reasons behind the apparent chaotic design of Asian apps are many and varied – mobile is the first interface with the Internet for many Asian citizens, meaning they have bypassed laptop and desktops and so are habituated from the start with multiple services brought together on a smaller mobile screen.

Psychologists might also argue that Chinese and other Asian alphabets are much more complex with many more characters than Western written languages, so these users have brains better wired to visually scan, absorb and process copious amounts of data.

Certainly, the super app concept does seem to run counter to the basic product design principles for apps. These principles have focused on streamlined, minimalist construction to provide a frictionless, intuitive interface all with the goal of allowing users to accomplish their goals with minimum friction.

And those apps that bury their non-core features deeper within risk low usage of these extra functions and call into question their value – especially if they slow downloading and the overall user experience.

Elements of the super app strategy are emerging. Elon Musk’s grandiose claims that he wants to create an “everything app” out of Twitter with a payment functionality may not be realised but other brands are taking baby steps.

British-Lithuanian fintech Revolut was founded in 2015 and describes itself as ‘One app, all things money’. It began life as a way to execute basic currency exchanges and withdrawals conveniently and has gradually expanded its services.

It now offers stock trading and crypto exchange services and with the recent introduction of its ‘Hub’ allows business users to connect their Revolut business account to relevant tools and apps such as Slack and Zapier. This could be very useful – or be an evolutionary dead end for the app if there’s no pick up.

And we also have the example of Uber with its extension Uber Eats. The core purpose is “to imagine the way the world moves for the better” – but Uber’s app also connects consumers with restaurants and food suppliers for deliveries. What other opportunities could the app provide? Could it build out on its current payments/bill splitting functionality?

Behaviours change and it may be that as digitally native younger demographics travel and gain experience of the super app eco-system in Asia and Latin America their expectations will rise as to what Western apps should provide. Ofcom 2021 research showed 54% of respondents would rather use their smartphone to make video calls and 53% to conduct banking, compared to 23% and 26% who preferred to use a laptop or desktop, so there is a clear direction of travel.

App product designers will walk a tightrope between delivering a smooth experience and packing in features. I expect to see more elements of super app design and functionality appear this year and will be intrigued as to how they are executed.