What is a Super Apps and what will be the future of it?

October 5, 2015
Mobile App Development

Let's start by defining super applications. While there isn't a universal description for this sort of software, the one we've provided below was provided by BlackBerry's inventor in 2010. In plenty of other words, super applications are a form of the arena for in-house and third-party services and offer collected under one roof. WeChat, Alibaba, and Alipay are the most well-known examples of such apps, which were all designed with Chinese markets in mind. This is something spectacular that is emerging in the mobile app development companies that you are overlooking.


It is important to note that, while the use of super applications is becoming increasingly common in China, the patterns are quickly spreading around the globe. Take a closer look at the primary factors for super applications' success to keep records of their growth.

Vertical Growth Model Facing challenges

For years, most Western app development firms concentrated on the "Vertical Growth Model," which was perfectly matched to the solitary apps they were attempting to globalize. This approach, and its success, were forcefully challenged with the development of Super Apps.


Super Apps aspire to entirely control particular regional locations, thus they strive to grow horizontally, that is, by adding additional convenience features to the app in order to make it a fully-managed frame for users to accomplish everything.


This horizontal growth approach enables these applications to conquer certain regions in ways that the mobile app development companies previously thought impossible.

Reasons for Super Apps Success

When considering the variables that have led to the success of a great app, it becomes clear that they are all linked to Asian culture. So, why have super applications been so popular in China, and may their success spread to Europe and the United States? Most people beyond those regions, particularly in the West, may find this a fascinating but otherworldly core idea, but the phenomenal growth of these apps in recent years is an indication that they will eventually see something equivalent, successfully interrupting the traditional single-purpose app model that they have previously enjoyed too.


Agile Tech

Users have considered mobile applications as software that can be put on their phones and has a specific, well-defined function since the time when they first became popular. Each software simply performed one thing, and it accomplished it really well. If you wanted to talk with your pals, you could join WhatsApp; for grabbing taxis and delivering packages, you could join Uber and Lyft; and for purchasing anything digitally, you could use Amazon.


Super Apps, on the other hand, are the absolute opposite of this. They provide all of these services in one location, bringing the concept of user convenience to its pinnacle.


Let's try to figure out the solution by going through each of the four essential factors that contribute to super app achievement.


Homogeneous Market

In terms of culture, most Asian countries have a lot of similarities. This affects market uniformity, enabling new enterprises to compete in several locations within the area while providing unified services. As a result, when super apps were first created, the need for the services they provided soon propagated throughout the area, adding to the development and popularization of super apps.

Mobile Experience

China is characterized as a country with a mobile-first population since its residents' very first interaction with the Internet was through mobile devices. Due to the discontinuation of the Google search engine in 2010, the country has little prior computing experience. In addition, the smartphone market in Asia is significantly larger and less expensive than anyplace else on the planet.


So, how have these factors influenced the rise in popularity of super apps? The most influential element is that not ages later, mobile devices had limited storage, limiting users from installing many applications and encouraging them to download super apps, which combine a number of services and products in one spot.

Government Support

Since the Chinese government was willing to develop methods to engage technologically with 1.5 billion people, super applications received considerable official support that should not be overlooked. The WeChat super app, for instance, has a good possibility of replacing conventional ID paperwork. Additionally, the WeChat and Alipay super apps provide access to hundreds of public services.

Final Note

If you are looking forward to building a super app, you can go ahead with it whether you own an Android app development company or an iOS app development company. You can generate quick ROI from building super apps by targeting your audience.


Selena MMC

I'm a Search Engine Optimizer & WordPress Developer at MMC GBL LLC.

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