Once again, everyone is discussing the "first in Russia" SuperApp, this time from Tinkoff. Recently, there was an anniversary for one of the first SuperApps — the Moscow government services app, where you can pay for parking and fines, submit utility readings, make doctor appointments, and check your child's homework and grades. Following in their footsteps, federal government services have adopted the term "super" (super-services or super-apps), which automatically raises the “coolness” factor of any service. Although I don't have warm feelings towards superapps (combiners), the current penetration of digital government services is their achievement.
What are we witnessing now, the rise or fall of SuperApps?
Part One
At the time of the Internet's maturation, everyone was trying to create mega-portals — hello Yahoo! And at that time, it made sense. They were eventually replaced by "niche" services — search engines, online stores, and social networks defeated the portal giants... and themselves transformed into these giants. Everything was going well until the revolution occurred (thanks to Steve Jobs), and the portal monopoly began to weaken. The very approach to smartphone interface operation changed — the phone's screen became the "portal" itself, with the set of services necessary for the user. You don't need to use Yandex mail if you are only using its search engine. Now the set of services is up to the user's choice and competition among app developers. Control has shifted to the owners of the marketplaces — Google and Apple. This doesn’t sit well with the "service" giants — app marketing is becoming more expensive, control over promotion is lost, and user management fades away. And two ideas emerged:
- "a market within a market"
- an app "Swiss Army knife."
Part Two
Is it possible to create an App "Swiss Army knife"? Well, maybe partially possible. The example of governmental services was quite successful, but time moves on. All the other examples often cited (WeChat, Uber) cannot be called a full-fledged "SuperApp". These are applications with a focus on a particular service, not even a service, but an area of life. It's like the blind men feeling the elephant. For some, it’s all about "communication"; for others, it’s "finances." It would be strange to receive a reminder from voice assistant Oleg to input the menstrual cycle into Tinkoff’s app, even if it is a SuperApp.
Today's launch of Super Apps by financial organizations resembles the dilemma of 'money in the morning — chairs in the evening or vice versa.' Who is more important in the consumption of goods or services: e-commerce or fintech? Until recently, payment services were an appendage to the process, one that could be controlled (paying by card, points, electronic money), but with the launch of their own services by Apple and Google, the problem for banks has intensified.
Finance is becoming an 'infrastructure', just like telecommunications operators. It's unrealistic to fight against the real ecosystem creators — Google and Apple, so banks have decided to take on 'realistic competitors' as sparring partners. They chose different methods of combat. Sberbank has decided to acquire services and bring them under control. Tinkoff offers a marketplace/Super App concept. Yandex had its own approach to creating a Super App — they decided to do it themselves.
The transformation of positions on this path at Yandex and Sberbank is interesting. While Sber operated under the assumption of 'we'll buy' since the main resource is 'money', Yandex, which conversely possesses 'hands', decided to do everything itself. As a result, both have undergone transformation. Sber is now not only acquiring but also developing on its own, while Yandex has started to acquire projects. The question remains: who will run out of resources faster — Sber with its money or Yandex with its 'hands'?
In this survival strategy, Tinkoff, which is 'more modest' both financially and in terms of 'hands', finds itself in a difficult position. As a result, Tinkoff is betting on 'advertising' and its brand. But a very big question remains — will this strategy allow them to survive now, or is it an attempt to sell themselves for a higher price before exiting?
Part three. Conclusion
Are SuperApps a dead end? The fact is that the most significant transformation in service consumption was the revolution in interaction with smartphones. It seems that another revolution is on the horizon. Siri, Google, Alice — these are the very images of the future that hint at how interactions will take place. If we look at the changes for developers that Apple showcased this year (SiriKit), we can understand how the very essence of working with application interfaces will evolve — a blend of voice assistants, quick buttons, and app elements during interactions. Perhaps this is what will become the true first SuperApp. We’ll see soon…
Source: habr.com
