All-in-one app race heats up with Tata's plan to roll out one by Jan 2021

Reliance Jio, which signed a $5.7 bn deal with Whatsapp owner Facebook, is building its own digital empire by entering the hot e-commerce space in the grocery segment with its JioMart

Short video app Chingari’s founder Sumit Ghosh recently said he doesn’t want his app just to be an entertainment platform like TikTok, but wants to build a ‘super app’ like WeChat, which can solve all the digital needs of users including entertainment, education and e-commerce.

“If you’re just a short video app, people will come on your platform for a short time. To become a part of someone’s life we want to provide more than just entertainment,” says Ghosh, who is working towards adding features like chat, live streaming and social commerce to the Chingari platform.

The rise of e-commerce in India on the back of rising smartphone penetration and affordable internet is making Indian behemoths such as Tatas to build their own version of all-in-one super apps. The intent, say experts is, increase their customer base while retaining the existing ones, especially in the consumer facing business.

According to a recent media report, Tata Group, which touches millions of lives in India through its diverse range of products, is bringing all its services together on a platform to roll out a super app by December-January. The conglomerate’s chairman N Chandrasekaran was quoted as saying that it would be a ‘very big opportunity’ for the company with several services on the platform including food and grocery ordering, fashion and lifestyle, education, healthcare and bill payments. 

For a consumer, super apps are apps within an app that offer multifaceted experiences, save phone space and provide access to a plethora of services. 

“Tatas have already done a super app model not in the online but in the offline world. They sell everything from salt, steel, apparel, gold to buildings. A super app approach is an obvious step for them as they can maximise their revenue from this user base,” says Rahul Singh, CEO and co-founder at influential marketing firm Winkl. 

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio which entered a $5.7 billion deal with Whatsapp owner Facebook is also building its own digital empire by entering the hot e-commerce space in the grocery segment with its JioMart. Reliance Retail also acquired a majority equity stake in Chennai-based online pharmacy delivery startup Netmeds for Rs 620 crore and a 15 per cent stake in online lingerie brand Zivame recently.

“Superapps are easy to use, friction free and functional. From a marketing perspective, you already have an audience to market to, as well as a wealth of data that will help you shape the right offering and pitch it to the right people at the right time,” says Somdutta Singh, Founder & CEO of ecommerce management firm Assiduus.

However, getting users on these super apps will not be easy as the market already has strong players in individual segments such as Amazon in e-commerce, BigBasket in online grocery, Zomato and Swiggy in food delivery, MakeMyTrip in ticket booking and BookMyShow in movie ticketing. “All the use cases for the upcoming super apps already have strong standalone apps and there is no reason for users to switch to a new platform,” says Satish Meena, senior analyst at Forrester Research. 

Several companies have tried their hands in this space but have failed with only a few players such as Paytm gaining traction. “Our idea is not to just create a 'super-app' but a diverse ecosystem that empowers users and creates a positive impact on the overall economy of the country. As we evolve further, we want to empower people so that geography and reach are never an issue for them to avail banking, wealth, lending, and other financial services," said a Paytm spokesperson.

Another player in the segment PhonePe has a slightly different model called ‘Switch’ through which its 230 million customers can place orders on over 200 apps including Ola, Myntra, IRCTC, Goibibo, RedBus, Oyo directly from within the PhonePe mobile app.