In what could be the country’s first ‘super app’, business conglomerate Tata group is reportedly planning to launch a super app by the end of this year, offering a range of services bundled in one app, Financial Times has reported. The financial daily quotes the group Chairman N Chandrasekaran as saying, "It will be a super app, a lot of apps in apps and so on . . . We have a very big opportunity.”
The super app is likely to be launched by December or January.
N Chandra reportedly said that the super app would provide a range of services from food and grocery, to fashion and lifestyle, consumer electronics and consumer durables. The super app is also expected to include insurance and financial services, education, healthcare and bill payments.
The idea, according to the company, is to connect all businesses and services that the Tata Group offers and offer it online through an omnichannel experience.
A super app is a single application that offers a varied range of services from food, financial services, digital services, education, among others. Super apps as a concept are currently popular in Southeast Asian countries where apps such as Grab, GoJek and Meituan are widely used.
For Tata, which has businesses ranging from food, IT and digital, financial services, tourism and travel, auto, consumer and retail, consolidating all offerings under one app may not be difficult.
In fact, the group also incorporated a new entity last year called Tata Digital, which according to its website, wants to build a ‘world-class platform out of India to serve the Indian consumer’. Pratik Pal, former global head of retail, travel and hospitality was appointed as the CEO Tata Digital.
Tata’s move to develop a super app also comes at a time when the e-commerce and online industry is firming up with digital adoption accelerating in the country. Existing players too, are tapping into various business areas to be able to offer a whole host of services. The country’s largest business conglomerate Reliance Industries too, has been aggressively building a digital presence in the country though Jio Platforms, which also raised over $20 billion from 13 global investors including Google and Facebook.
While Reliance has launched various digital services, it is also looking to extend JioMart beyond grocery to offer e-commerce, healthcare, education, and other services through the platform.
Existing e-commerce players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm too, are adding new services such a financial services, and other adjacent offerings through new launches and partnerships.