One of the anomalies of the tech and media worlds over the past decade is that a super app hasn’t emerged in the Western markets. As we often discuss on Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, these apps – best represented by WeChat – haven’t found the same fertile conditions that they have in Asia.
Known for doing everything from purchasing movie tickets to chatting with friends, super apps have advantages for anyone who can pull them off. We’ve even called it the holy grail of apps, given high user retention and frequency, along with several diversified revenue streams that can be baked in.
So why hasn’t one caught on in Western markets? We’ve theorized cultural reasons, such as the desire, to have a “best of breed” mobile home screen. This sort of aligns with a capitalistic spirit to go out and find the best social, payments, eCommerce, and messaging apps, rather than one that does it all.
In that sense, the smartphone home screen has become the de facto modular super app of the West. And maybe that’s the appropriate outcome that the market has chosen. But despite that obstacle, the lure of the super app continues to attract U.S. players. Two in particular have signaled 2024 ambitions.
Ep. 32 Asks Will Apple GPT Kill Siri & Does “X” Mark the Super App?
Stepping Stone
The first of the two is X. As we examined recently, the company laid out its 2024 road map, which includes integrating peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. We mention it here because payments are a key stepping stone towards super-app status. In fact, they’re one of the most important parts.
Particulars will be revealed in time but the high-level vision is that X users will be able to send money to other X users or businesses on the platform. Funds will be drawn from authenticated bank accounts. X also teased additional fintech functionality such as offering high-yield money market accounts.
None of the above is a surprise as Elon has telegraphed it since he acquired Twitter. And he’s not wrong… Socially-fueled communications apps with built-in network effects and sticky/frequent engagement are practical starting points for super apps. How do you think WeChat got to where it is?
The other puzzle piece is payments, which brings us back to X’s latest move. It’s a move where X could have a considerable advantage… Don’t forget that Elon was one of the co-founders of PayPal, along with Peter Thiel. Altogether, this is one answer to how Elon could recoup his $44 billion investment in X.
Key Ingredients
Moving on to the second player signaling super app moves, Meta has made its 2024 intentions known. In a recent article, the company outlined three main goals, the first of which was positioning WhatsApp as a way for businesses to use messaging as a core operational and transactional tool (see the others here).
As noted, there are many potential paths towards a super app and this is one of them. In fact, this is similar but different than the communications route that X is taking, also known as conversational commerce. Meta writes: “In 2024, people and businesses will get more done right within a chat”.
The name of the game here is utilizing messaging for customer acquisition and support. The thought is that many consumers – especially younger ones – are already active in messaging apps. It can be extended to everything from confirming your dentist appointment to checking retail product availability.
Like WeChat, WhatsApp started as a staple of daily P2P communications. After reaching a critical mass of users and engagement, it introduced commerce into the mix. That’s where Meta (and X to a degree) is now. Given these ingredients already in place, WhatsApp could be a serious super-app contender.
