TGIF, everybody! Here are our top stories of the week:
#SuperApps
👀 Super apps are the latest trend tech giants are using to make people stay on their apps for longer.
🦸 Companies are cramming more features into their apps to branch out from their core functionality. E.g., a fintech super app could add BNPL (buy now pay later), while a social media app could incorporate shopping.
⚡ Uber, Spotify, and Snap are among tech firms touting the concept; Elon Musk also mentioned it while discussing his plans for Twitter.
Why be an app when you can be a super app?
💬 China's WeChat is the first successful instance: originally a messaging app, it now allows billions of users to perform day-to-day tasks, from transferring money to divorcing(!) a significant other.
👻 Snapchat is the leader of the Super App movement in the West. Its mini-apps enable users to play games, communicate using different formats, and even buy movie tickets.
🏬 Like a food court inside a shopping center prompts you to pop in for a bite, more app features under the guise of convenience want to capture our time, attention, and money.
🤳 The aim is to become one of the 30 apps on your smartphone screen and, more specifically, one of the nine apps used daily.
💰 People are also interested – super apps could unlock $3.2T in consumer spending annually.
More data = more dollars
🤑 Tech experts say the super app strategy can potentially create the first $10T business.
🎯 Super apps unlock the potential for companies to accumulate even more consumer data, which means more in-depth knowledge to hand to advertisers to create more targeted messaging.
However,
🔋 Building multiple services into one app could mess up device storage and battery life.
⏳ An overstuffed app could lower app reaction time, a feature that is extremely important if companies want to retain customers' attention.
If you have any feedback, drop it here. Have a great weekend!