Super apps, they're really nothing new. Ever since mobile apps exist, there has been one constant movement like the ebb and flow of the waves: bundling and unbundling. And from time to time, a big wave of ‘super apps’ pops up. Making the daredevils among us dream about riding it. But should you stick your feet in these murky waters?

Take Facebook as an example of that constant movement: splitting off Groups and Messenger into separate apps, only to integrate them back into the ‘big blue app’. To this day - with the exception of some examples typically found in the Asian market - these super apps remain a rare sight. Recently, however, more and more companies have publicly preached their ambitions to build the next super application. Big guys like Uber or Musk’s Twitter, but also local telco providers or banks. So the trend is definitely back. This triggers a critical reflection: claiming ‘the super app’ as your main product vision, is it a solid and substantial strategy?

Finding out how to market new functionalities

So where does that sudden (reborn) desire to build the next super app come from? Let’s take a couple of steps back. Today, the Internet has grown up and nearly all major services went through a digital transformation. From media consumption to office work and shopping… It's safe to say that there’s no industry that hasn’t evolved to include a digital touchpoint. And companies that capitalise on their online presence know that every service needs a place in that digital realm.

Additionally, many companies have been diversifying their business. Deepening some of their offerings (e.g. a supermarket also providing subscription delivery services) or broadening their offerings into adjacent or new spaces (e.g. a bank also providing shopping, or a shop providing financial services). And these new functionalities also require digital touchpoints.

But where should all these functionalities go, exactly? Recently, companies have been led to believe that there is only one answer to this question: the all-in-one app.  By looking at the success of established powerhouses like WeChat or Amazon, the super app has become the default answer to the question of what a company’s digital strategy should be. In fact, the answer is so quick on the tongue, that many companies have forgotten the real question: “Should we bundle or unbundle our services?”

3 ways to channel new features

This is not an easy question to answer, so we’ll provide a framework to find your solution. Let us start from the point where your company decides to broaden its horizon. For the core service, you will typically have an established digital presence that is working nicely for you and your customers. But what happens when you introduce a new service or feature?

To decide which strategy to pursue, ask yourself 2 vital questions:

• Are you serving a new target audience?
• Are you broadening your value proposition?

Based on the answers to these questions, there are different outcomes when it comes to your digital channel strategy.

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1. Multiple stand-alone apps
Different target audiences with different use cases.

Your first option to expand is by adding another app that is independent of your original one. You can do this when you’re addressing an entirely new and clearly separate audience. Think of a portal for merchants, as opposed to a payment app for consumers. In these kinds of cases, there is nothing to be gained from combining both. The success of the existing app would not increase the success of the new channel. Given both audiences have different needs, trying to address all of them in one channel would only cause a bloated interface.

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2. Application suite
Same target audience with different use cases.

The other option of expansion happens when you want to delight your existing audience with other services. And when these other functionalities require their own specific interface and focus.

Just look at how we wrote this article. The writers collaborated on the same document. The reviewer planned and hosted a meeting for feedback. And the designers stored the finalised article on Drive for future reference. Yup, we’re talking about Google Workspace. A collection of interlinked separate apps, like Docs, Drive, Calendar or Meet. An app suite gives its apps room to breathe while linking them at the same time with a single account and the ability to share documents or contacts across the entire app suite.

When done right, this approach results in great, focused user experiences, which still have synergy. Additionally, successful apps can increase the discoverability of newer services. If done poorly (or too soon), the end result might be perceived as overly fragmented.

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3. Super app
A lot of target audiences, and a lot of different use cases.‍

Finally, there’s the super app. Much like a blooming city, super apps are ecosystems where many different actors (everyone) come together to do a wild variety of things (everything). And like a city, everything takes place within this walled garden.

Let’s continue with the metaphor. Settlements don't start out like MegaCities. WeChat didn’t start out as a super app. Just like people settle close to the water for drinking or irrigation, WeChat started out with a core functionality: general messaging. Next, it widened its value proposition by introducing payments. Turns out that water is great for trading too. Now, the app had a transactional component, and from this, their marketplace could branch out into a whole range of other use cases. The majority of them being developed by third parties, interested in the reach of WeChat’s marketplace. More functionalities attracted more users to the app and so on. You know the story.

Marketplaces draw a crowd of both visitors and merchants alike. And this network effect is great when you are the host. But markets can grow too crowded too.

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The dream and the reality

To become the one company that ‘offers it all’. It sure is an extremely attractive thought. But, as with so many attractive thoughts, it is easier said than done.

First, things will only pan out if your ‘market stalls’ offer things people like. To escape the metaphor:  it only makes sense if your app adds functionalities that users want. Not what some business executives believe they want or should want.

Secondly, even when adding more features that are desirable for users, there is a delicate balance between functionality and usability. The super app's ambition can result in users no longer seeing the wood from the trees.

The same applies to your company, by the way. Your teams need the time and space to keep all those different use cases top-notch. And your solution architects need to keep assuring things are performant and ready to scale.

And lastly, even if you do everything by the book, don’t underestimate your biggest competitor: the good-enough solution. It might not be ideal, or as simple as using one app, but people will often already have different apps or other workable solutions. They might not see the value in your proposition. Also, how will they even know all of those widgets exist?

This is where the WeChat comparison really doesn’t serve as an example to Western companies. Not only did China skip the desktop phase and went straight to mobile. These devices never came with app stores, resulting in WeChat or AliPay filling the void from within their apps. Compare that to Europe or the US, where “there’s an app for that” was how the smartphone was marketed.

Super apps: yay or nay?

In summary, there are important considerations to make when the plans for a super app are on the table.

• Are we addressing real customer needs? (Or imagined needs that would serve the business strategy?)
• Are these needs currently unmet by the existing digital options? (Or would we introduce functionality that most people already have a solution for, like checking the weather?)
• Can we serve them better? (Or would we introduce an undercooked alternative?)
• Can we serve them elegantly within this one central app? (Or would we provide a cluttered and complex interface?)
• And lastly, can we communicate to current or future customers that we have this wide range of options for them? (Or would they default back to what they know: the app store, or the good-enough solution)

If you’re not confident to answer these questions, the idea of building a super app dies there.

But there’s good news too. When broadening your digital horizons, contrary to what the digital gurus will tell you: there are more options than the super app.

• A new, separate application for a new or more niche set of customers.
• Support your customer base with different use cases, but still provide some synergy through a suite of apps.
• Or simply keep expanding your current app by expanding the user journey through well-integrated features.

Do this well, and who knows? Maybe you will look at the result some years into the future, and you end up with what could be called a super app. But it will have been because you were solving real user needs. Better than the competition, with an app that managed to remain both empowering and elegant. Not because some boardroom presentation said you should become like WeChat. The channel should not define your product strategy. Your strategy defines the channel.