May 20th 2021 10:44
A super app is the name given to a type of app that allows the user to accomplish a number of different things in a single ecosystem, by housing a range of ‘mini’ applications under one roof.
The format was pioneered by chat app WeChat (Weixin in China), which introduced a feature called ‘mini-programs’ in 2016 that allowed users to download and run a variety of third-party applications, from shops to games, all without leaving WeChat. The concept achieved huge popularity, and has since been adopted by a number of major companies, most of them in East and Southeast Asia – such as Baidu, Alipay, Bytedance, Grab and Gojek – but also in countries like Russia, where search engine Yandex has launched Yandex Go, widely hailed as Europe’s first super app; and Colombia, where delivery giant Rappi aspires to become the largest super app in Latin America.
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Whether you’re planning a local holiday in Vietnam, looking to purchase Covid-19 PCR tests in Indonesia, or want flowers delivered to someone special in Thailand, Traveloka says it has an app for that.
Southeast Asia’s biggest online travel startup has made use of the pandemic by focusing inward to diversify its local offerings. For the company’s leaders, that meant having to dive deeper into lifestyle and financial services both areas where consumers in the region are hungry for solutions, and ones that they feel could drive interest in a potential U.S.-listed IPO for Traveloka. Company leader say that could happen shortly.