The Super Apps Concept May Be Trending But It Won’t Be Welcomed In America

Plenty of fintech companies that began around ten years ago were seen promoting a single product that was right up customers’ alley. With time, trends evolved and we saw services expand into something much more.

Businesses were keen on growing and that’s where we saw the evolution of super apps. But what exactly does the term indicate?

Experts best describe them as complete ecosystems where a range of tasks are performed in limited surroundings. The whole idea is linked to users getting up-close and personal access to exclusive services within that surrounding provided the task in demand is offered in that restricted space.

Well, it’s best to explain the concept of banking. More and more consumers are spending time on their mobiles and their demand for all sorts of products continues to increase, leading to a reshuffling of finance-related services.

The growing demand is being met by such super apps that wish to enhance the consumer experience while staying relevant to changing tastes of customers from all over. The concept is widely popular in places like China and they aren’t really in existence across the US.

We found the whole idea unique where a long array of services are mingled together into a particular app like WeChat.

As far as technical aspects are concerned, well, people often misunderstand the whole idea. These put heavy reliance on small programs running within a particular app simultaneously. Also, they aren’t any requirements for it to be downloaded or even upgraded from a particular app store.

Users can now stick to one app to get a whole array of services completed. And in case you’re wondering about the great benefits attached, well, for starters, the high speed is worth raving about. With all the mini-programs enclosed in one confined space, they’re faster to download than regular mobile applications.

Secondly, you don’t need to get it updated from the app store as the newer version gets updated on its own. Also, it’s so compact and by that we mean you gain access to over 60 different points of entry. Lastly, they’re cheaper in price as they’re released in fewer periods of time.

The trend first emerged in Asia because so many consumers had underpowered phones and couldn’t handle 40 to 50 different apps across their devices. And that’s probably why we won’t be seeing them making an entry in the US market today.

In America, people are very content with one app like PayPal handling their financial accounts than resorting to a super app doing the same. In other words, Americans are not keen on this one-stop shop for getting on board with various financial services as it’s too limited for them.

Recently, Insider Intelligence has even confirmed that the model taking off in Asia won’t be seen in the US because the market is well suited with both phones and technology that don’t need assistance from these apps.

America is more focused on tackling bigger issues like data privacy and how to better safeguard consumer rights. Anyone that chooses to introduce the super app is likely to face resistance from different sides including oligopolies.

Experts say the only exception is probably Walmart, thanks to its customer base you feel underserved. Other than that, this integrated ecosystem has no space in the country.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World