SuperApps: why they’re hot, when they’re cool — and when they’re not. (2/2)

This is part 2 of 2 of this article. View Part 1 here.

Last week, we zoomed in on the SuperApps topic and shined some light on the question whether or not SuperApps are useful for organizations. I summed up a list of possible reasons and scenarios why SuperApps are indeed viable solutions. This week, let’s look at some of the reasons why going for a SuperApp is not such a good idea — or at least requires some ‘hard additional thinking’.

‘A new shiny toy’

Like I highlighted last week, companies have the tendency to jump on every new ‘shiny toy’ in the innovation domain. Blockchain, NFTs and the Metaverse are just some examples of such ‘toys’, which all very quickly gained popularity in the boardroom. Yet, as it turns out, these trends have faded somewhat (most notably the Metaverse, with loads of built up hype, but a rather disappointing user adoption.).

Why is this relevant? Because we need to be careful that SuperApps will not face a similar path and ensure companies won’t adopt SuperApps just because it

A) sounds cool and
B) everyone is talking about it.

When NOT to create a SuperApp (or at least have second thoughts)?

So what are some of the pitfalls and reasons not to create a SuperApp for your business?

1 — When your services are not similar/adjacent, or extending your customer’s journey

Generally, SuperApps initially gain traction because they help users do more in a contextual, logical and efficient way.

For example, it starts with offering users the ability to order food or groceries after coming home from hailing ride. Then, you add pharmacy products and sending (or receiving) packages. After that you decide to integrate a native payment method so users don’t need to leave your app to finish their transactions. And finally you decide to move to additional, somewhat more ‘exotic’ services, such as insurances, flights and hotel stays.

In the example above you can see a clear broadening/extension of the customer journey, at least up until the some ‘random exotic services’, like insurances and flights.

Are you planning to broaden or extend your core product offering (and accompanying journey) into adjacent products and services? Great, then a SuperApp might be a useful vehicle for that. Are you not planning on doing that? Then maybe stay away from packing random services into one app.

Don’t confuse users unnecessarily by muddying your core value proposition by offering irrelevant, unexpected services.

2 — When digital maturity of your services is very different (low vs high)

Consider the maturity of the services you are pondering to offer in your SuperApp.

If one such service has a high digital maturity and capitalizes many of the current digital trends and capabilities (e.g. integrated payments, personalized offerings, AI chat, discovery, digital loyalty, wallet integration, etc.), then be careful adding a service with low digital maturity which is not capable of using those capabilities. This will deflect users and create a mismatch between expectations and perceived value.

Imagine a SuperApp in which you can start an instant in-app chat about a package that was not delivered correctly, but after you find out your delivered groceries are missing 4 items, you’re referred to a call center. That might raise some eyebrows with your users.

3 — When you want to keep all services with separated branding

Inherent to a SuperApp is its perceived branding. It’s one app, with one homescreen icon and most probably one navigation bar. As such, the way its visually designed has a big impact on your brand perception. This can work in your advantage and can actually be a smart way to do a (long planned) brand overhaul.

However, when you currently have a strong market positioning and recognition for multiple, separated brands, then you might want to think twice about converting those to a single SuperApp. This could dilute your overall brand house and architecture, as things ‘are packed into one container’, potentially losing brand value for each of individual brands.

That being said, there is a way of building up a SuperApp with distinct branding. As you know, SuperApps are by definition ‘modular tools’ from a functional point of view (i.e.: creating multiple product journeys in a central place), but you can also become modular from a visual point of view. What does this mean?

In this SuperApp example, each icon represents a product, each one with a distinctive branding. After opening one such product, its branding (i.e. look and feel) ‘takes over’ the full screen experience.

Although each product’s branding is different, you might still have a coherent experience if the design system is done right: these so called ‘micro journeys’ inside the SuperApp should help users understand where they are, how they can switch to other products and implicitly understand how these ‘micro branded’ sub sections are actually part of a bigger system. So yes, it can be done, but this is a risky path forward and should be executed carefully.

However, if you have multiple strong brands and don’t want to merge them, then a SuperApp is a risky move.

4 — When the damage of sunsetting your dominant app, can be harmful for your brand

Let’s assume you have one dominant brand with an app in the App store (Apple Store/Google Play). This app is significantly more popular than other apps and products you offer, and generates >50% of your revenue.

Now you have the idea of creating a SuperApp. There are two options:

1. Create a brand new app that will be submitted to the App Store.
2. Use your existing App as basis for your SuperApp and convert it little by little to a full blown SuperApp.

If you choose do the latter, great and good luck! You just decided you want to convert, extend and/or grow your existing app into a SuperApp, possibly by merging other products into your number one money maker — and not make a new app.

However, if you go for Scenario 1 and do decide to make a new app for your SuperApp, you have to make a hard decision: will you sunset your primary app and make it obsolete, or keep it alive next to your SuperApp?

Thousands — if not millions — use your app, you have a record-high daily app usage and 5 stars in the app stores. Killing it is risky, to say the least… But the alternative is not optimal either: keeping two apps in the app store that basically do the same thing. Difficult decision!

For a while, Uber had its ride hailing app and Uber Eats live alongside each other. They created ‘deep links’ between the two, allowing you to access functionalities from Uber Eats, inside Uber. This sort of a ‘hybrid super app’: allowing users to feel they are using a SuperApp, but in reality they’re still using two different apps. Smart move and a great step-up to a fully integrated SuperApp.

Experience vs Logic

And that brings us to a final important point: the difference between ‘feeling’ something (largely defined by CX/UX design) and the actual technology and logic behind that experience.

If you decide not to make a full blown SuperApp — but do have different apps and services to offer — then consider the option of keeping two apps from a logical standpoint, but giving your users the feeling of 1 app from a experience standpoint. This will allow for cross-selling between your apps and increase LTV. Also, when successful, this strategy is a great step-up to an actual SuperApp in the future.

Note: Now, Uber does have a fully integrated SuperApp, enabling you to order food from within your Uber app:

Wrapping up: to SuperApp or not to SuperApp?

The answer to the question: ‘should I build a SuperApp?’ is not a straightforward as it might seems. Many aspects are in play and you should really give it some hard thinking before you jump on the bandwagon and start developing your first SuperApp. It’s often a company-defining decision and as such deserves all your attention, before proceeding.

To close off, let’s look at some key questions you can ask yourself, to gauge where you are standing and which way forward might be most suitable and viable, for you:

1. Why do I want to create a SuperApp?
2. What are my goals with a SuperApp and does adding services to my SuperApp make any sense? How am I extending or enriching my user’s journey?
3. Do I want to create the feeling of a SuperApp by offering clients a streamlined experience, without actually developing one single app, focusing mostly on an integrating the UX?
4. Am I willing to invest in the technology and infrastructure of a SuperApp, to create the logic of a SuperApp as well and sunset (some of) my other apps?
5. Is it important to have a centralized place for things like Support, chat, complaints and general FAQs?
6. Is it important to have one place for all purchases and digital payments?
7. Do I want to increase my focus on loyalty and possibly merge several loyalty programs into one?
8. How will a SuperApp affect the branding of my products and what brand values, overall look and feel and brand architecture do I want to retain, change or remove?

Hopefully this article has helped you to better navigate this interesting domain and be well prepared for the future!

— — — End of Article — — —

This is part 2 of 2 of this article. Find Part 1 here.

This article was written by Frank van de Ven, CXO at Umvel.com.
Get in touch with me on LinkedIn here.