Indian businesses are increasingly looking at consolidating their consumer offerings to provide an all-in-one digital experience for customers. Super apps that allow accessing multiple services on a single platform have attracted major conglomerates in the country.
Several homegrown super apps were launched in the last couple of years by corporate giants looking to gain ground in the expanding digital economy. While the initial buzz around these multi-utility applications seems to have died down, the underlying motive of bringing various consumer touchpoints under a unified interface is still relevant.
One of the notable conglomerates actively expanding its super app portfolio is the Adani Group. Reports suggest Adani One, the super app launched by the business group in 2023, has amassed over 30 million users so far for travel bookings and allied services. Impressed with the initial traction, Adani plans to multiply this user base significantly to around 500 million users in the next six years.
Another prominent player testing the super app waters is Tata Group. Tata Neu, the all-access platform rolled out by the salt-to-software conglomerate in 2022 aggregates several group entity apps. While Tata Neu saw initial glitches, efforts to refine the experience have paid off with 60 million downloads reported last year.
In the telecom space, Reliance Industries' digital unit has been steadily enhancing the scope of offerings on MyJio. After facilitating recharges and entertainment, a beta version of the super app added financial services capabilities recently. The integration aims to simplify access to banking, payments and investments.
While incumbent corporations are evidently bullish about super apps addressing the changing consumer habits, regulatory aspects around data sharing and bundling of unrelated services merit consideration. As the business case unfolds, watch this space for how Indian multi-service platforms fare in their ambition to be ‘one-stop shops' for users.
