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The most popular South Korean super app “Toss,” has finalized series G funding of $405 million. The app is now valued at 9.1 trillion won ($7 billion) from 8.5 trillion won in June 2021.
The usage of super apps is growing continuously as it offers a wide range of services in one platform, such as food delivery, in-app messaging, ticket booking, etc.
Businesses can benefit from this opportunity by creating their own super app to offer a wide range of most needed services to their app users.
Also, according to the research, 7 out of 10 global companies prefer building their apps as a multi-purpose platform to keep their position dominant in the market.
In this article, you can learn what super apps are, their benefits for businesses, and the best way to create such an app for your business.
What is super app Toss?
Toss is a “super app” that is popular in South Korea. It is a mobile application that provides various financial services and other features, such as mobile payments, peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers, bill payments, and personal finance management.
Toss also allows users to make investments, apply for loans, and purchase insurance. In addition to financial services, Toss also offers a variety of other features such as e-commerce, food delivery, transportation booking, and more.
The app’s goal is to provide a one-stop-shop for all users’ daily needs and transactions, thus the term “super app”. Toss has gained popularity since adding more features like banking, P2P lending, mobile-based stock trading and investing, insurance, credit scoring service, and more.
Recently the app launched a buy now pay later (BNPL) service in March with over 1 million registered users.
Moreover, the startup has also launched “Toss Payments” that enable their merchants to accept digital payments and is planning to offer wireless Communication services to their consumers in 2023 after acquiring Merchant Korea, a mobile virtual network operator.
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Headquarter | South Korea |
| Available on | Web, Android, iOS, Mac & PC |
| Market cap | $7.1B |
| Best for | Financial services |
| Top Features | Banking, P2P lending, Insurance, Mobile based stock trading, and investing |
What are super apps?
Super apps are all-in-one mobile applications that offer multiple services under one platform. Users can use super apps to access various functions such as payment processing, e-commerce, chat, shopping, courier delivery, social media, financial services, etc., with their single account.
The creation of super apps can be achieved by starting with a single purpose.
Later, the app owner can add multiple features and functions to offer more services to their users through which the app owner can increase their revenue.
How does a super app work?
Super apps are a multi-functional platform that offers a wide range of services within a single app. Users can access a wide range of services within a single app, such as e-commerce, food delivery, payment services, etc.
By creating an account on a single platform, users can access a wide range of useful features and services without needing to create an account on separate apps.
These platforms are flexible in terms of adding new features and services that businesses can add based on their user’s needs and requirements.
What makes an app a super app?
The super app is more than just a traditional single-purpose mobile app. The app offers a wide range of services creating a multifunctional ecosystem for its app users.
The super app must have the following properties.
1. Interaction between services
There is the involvement of multiple channels that offer separate services in super apps. From a technical point of view, all these channels should have equal operating speed, which can be achieved by offering a smooth transition between all the multiple screens.
2. Usage of common components
One of the most common features of the multipurpose app is the integration of a common page. The overall visuals and user experience of the app should remain consistent across all the app screens that offer different features and services.
3. Data sharing between services
Data management is one of the crucial aspects of the Super app. Once users join the app, their personal data, such as ID, delivery address, and other necessary data, should be accessible in each app service.
Moreover, the data of the previous sessions and actions should be stored and shared across all the services to offer a personalized experience and recommendation to each user.
4. Security consistency
Super apps utilize and share the users’ data across their multiple services. It becomes necessary for such apps to create a safe environment where there is almost no possibility of having security-related concerns, especially for users’ data.
Know how super apps can benefit businesses.
How can businesses benefit from super apps?
Businesses can benefit in the following ways
1. Wide audience reach
Users are most likely to discover and utilize multiple offerings, giving them a better experience than downloading separate apps for different niches.
This results in increasing users’ interest in platforms that offer overall services. Businesses can use such opportunities to grow their customer base and revenue streams.
2. High customer engagement
Businesses can enhance customer engagement by offering a comprehensive range of services within a single Super App.
The availability of all-rounder services within the same platform encourages users to spend more time on the app, increasing their exposure to its offerings.
This not only improves user experience but also increases the likelihood of repeat usage, as users can access all relevant services from a single source.
To further drive engagement, businesses can integrate features such as gamification, personalized recommendations, and in-app messaging. These elements enhance the user experience, providing additional incentives for users to return and interact with the app, thereby improving customer engagement and retention.
3. Offer more ways to make income
Businesses can create an additional source of income by offering services that meet their user’s needs. By implementing various monetization models into their app’s features and services, businesses can generate an additional revenue stream from their users.
The monetization model may include subscription-based access, in-app purchases, advertisements, transaction-based fees, etc. Moreover, offering these features help businesses to strengthen their relationship with their users, resulting in their platform growth and improving user engagement.
4. Helps in cost reduction
Implementing new features and services within an existing platform is more cost-effective than building separate stand-alone apps for each function, helping businesses to reduce their cost during platform development.
Additionally, implementing multiple services within a single app can reduce duplicated effort and resources, further streamlining development processes and reducing costs.
By leveraging the advantages of the super app framework, businesses can maximize their app development efficiency and profitability and minimize expenses and budget for app development.
To create your app, it is advisable to outsource your project to an app development company. Moreover, you can check the process that the development team will follow when creating your super app.
Development process of making a super app
The development process for creating a super app like “Toss” typically involves several stages:
1. Idea and conceptualization
The first step is to identify the core features and services that the app will offer and to determine the target market and user needs.
You can tell app developers about the features that you want in your app. It would be best to offer all of the common features that are popular in super apps.
2. Research and analysis
Conducting market research and analyzing the competition is crucial to identify opportunities and areas for improvement.
During market research analysis, the app developers will create an ideal persona for your users.
The team will try to identify the pain points and challenges of your ideal customers to come up with solutions that can be fulfilled with your multi-purpose app.
3. Wireframing and prototyping
Creating wireframes and prototypes of the app helps to visualize the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) and to test the overall flow and functionality of the app.
With the user interface of your app, your app users will be able to access all the features offered by your platform.
It would be best to go for a simplistic and minimalistic design approach to help your users easily navigate through your platform.
4. Design and development
The app design process includes creating visual elements, such as icons, buttons, and layouts, and writing the code to make the app functional.
The team will try to implement all the features that you discussed with them during the outsourcing of your project.
However, it is recommended to create the MVP of your app, which will only include the list of selected features. MVP can help minimize your app development cost and time, and you can make required changes based on your app users’ feedback.
5. Testing and quality assurance
Testing the app thoroughly is crucial to ensure that it works as intended and to identify and fix any bugs or errors.
6. Deployment and maintenance
After the app is completed and tested, it can be deployed to app stores and made available to users. Ongoing maintenance and updates are necessary to keep the app running smoothly and to add new features and services over time.
7. Marketing and monetization
Marketing the app and finding ways to monetize it, such as through in-app purchases or advertising, is an important aspect of a successful super app.
It’s worth noting that the development process for a super app is complex and time-consuming, requiring a team of experienced developers, designers, and project managers to handle the different stages.
Now, let’s check the top best examples of super apps.
Top examples of super apps
The examples are as follows.
1. Revolut
The app offers a digital platform where users can open their accounts without visiting the branch. Revolut offers dozens of different products, such as stock trading, gifting, travel insurance, budgeting, premium membership, payroll services, allowing businesses to accept crypto, etc.
The platform has over 20 million retail customers and is accessible in 25+ countries.
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Headquarter | London |
| Available on | Web, Android & iOS |
| Market cap | $33B |
| Best for | Managing expenses and digital payments |
| Top features | Track spending, Cashback, Free ATM withdrawals |
2. The Cash App
The platform allows their user to transfer money at no cost. Moreover, by using the cash app, users can purchase and sell bitcoins and stocks can, apply for debit cards, receive salary payments, and can also file tax returns.
The platform is developed by Block Inc, formerly known as Square. In August 2021, Block Inc acquired BNPL provider “After pay” for $29 billion and is working to integrate those app’ services into their Cash App.
| Founded in | 2013 |
| Headquarter | USA |
| Available on | Web, Android & iOS |
| Market cap | $12.3 B |
| Best for | Digital payments and investment |
| Top features | Crytpo & P2P payments, Multi coin support |
3. Uber
The app is popular for its two services, namely ride-hailing (Uber Ride) and delivery (Uber Eats). However, in November 2021, the app introduced its new service called “One.”
It is a subscription program that offers customers various discounts that enables them to earn points that can be redeemed across Uber’s different services.
For example, if users order food through Uber Eats and collect points, the collected points can be redeemed on other services, such as getting discounts on Uber Ride.
| Founded in | 2009 |
| Headquarter | USA |
| Available on | Web, Android, iOS, Mac & PC |
| Market cap | $61.69 B |
| Best for | Taxi booking, Food delivery |
| Top features | Ride booking, Real time driver tracking, Multiple payment option, Auto checkout |
4. Gojek
In the initial stage, the app was launched as a ride-hailing platform. Now the platform offers various payment products, food and grocery delivery, car renting options, and even allows users to stream movies.
The platform has merged with a giant marketplace, “Tokopedia,” to form the “Go To Group.” In 2016, the platform launched its Go-Pay feature to enable its users to make cashless transactions.
| Founded in | 2010 |
| Headquarter | Indonesia |
| Available on | Web, Android & iOS |
| Market cap | $1.1 B |
| Best for | Food delivery, Digital Payments, Commuting |
| Top features | Schedule booking, Multi-language support, GoTrip |
Conclusion
In conclusion, developing a successful “super app” is a difficult process requiring a thorough plan, cutting-edge tools, and a committed team. It entails streamlining the user experience, integrating different features and services into a single platform, and iteratively enhancing the app based on user input. In addition, attracting and keeping consumers requires creating a strong brand and cultivating a feeling of community.
Although developing a “super app” is not simple, the potential advantages in terms of user engagement and money production are substantial.
Looking to create your super app? We can help
For businesses seeking to develop a Super App, Idea Usher offers a complete app development solution. Their team of experts specializes in creating apps that offer a platform for accessing multiple services that meet the needs and expectations of their clients.
Idea Usher can assist businesses throughout the development process with their extensive experience in market research, app development, testing, and deployment.
Contact Idea Usher to take advantage of their expertise and experience in creating custom super apps.
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FAQ
1. How does a super app work?
These apps provide a unified platform where users can access a wide range of features and services such as in-app payments, e-commerce, messaging, etc. Moreover, users don’t need to create multiple accounts to access different app services on such apps.
2. How to create a super app?
These are the development steps to create your app.
- Find and validate an app idea
- Do market and competitor research
- Create a list of all the required features and functionalities
- Hire app developers to create your app
- Implement the most suitable monetization model
- Launch your app
3. What are examples of super apps?
These are the best examples:
- Grab
- Revolut
- OMNi
- Gojek
- Uber
- Zalo
