The so called 'super apps' have long dominated the field in East Asia. Especially in China. Chinese consumers usually access all digital services through one app. China’s frontrunner in the super app space is WeChat. WeChat has become an all-round app managing social contacts, appointments, taxi or hotel bookings, financial services, online shopping, and more.
Global consumers have become highly digital. From food ordering and mobility services via doctor’s appointments and ticketing services to banking and asset management. Almost every service imaginable can be accessed digitally. Europeans and North Americans tend to use a dozen apps and services to manage their digital lives. However, the Asian digital service landscape is yet again special.
WeChat’s success strategy was to open up its platform for third parties to develop their own mini-applications within the WeChat ecosystem. There are several million mini-programs embedded in the WeChat app today.
WeChat’s most frequently used mini-programs are from the daily services field like messenger and chat services. Currently, the app has over 773 million monthly active users. In addition, WeChat’s daily services mini-programs attract the greatest number of people.
The various e-commerce sub-apps within WeChat win the second largest number of monthly active users. 538 million people access mobile shopping mini-programs created by, for example, JD.com or other Chinese e-commerce players within the WeChat platform. In other words, 14% of WeChat’s monthly active users access the app for mobile shopping. The other mini-program categories attract less users, but all of them register monthly active user numbers in the hundred-million range.
Super apps have not yet gained traction in the western world because Europeans’ and Americans’ have a strong and long-lasting relationships with local banks and well-established retailers.
On the other hand, Asian consumers mostly skipped the first stages of digitization. They entered both the banking and the online world with its numerous services with a smartphone as their first touchpoint with the internet. Accessing daily routine planning, shopping, payment services and much more all in one place.
As far as Europe is concerned, strict competition regulations that prevent big tech companies from taking market dominating roles too fast also play a role. On the other hand, the convenience-seeking digital generations are coming of age. Whether super apps like WeChat will have a chance in the western world in the future is thus definitely a topic to keep an eye on.
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