Software and internet platforms
Super-app
One app that bundles many services, such as messaging, payments, rides and shopping.
Last reviewedWhat does Super-app mean?
A super-app is a single mobile app that offers many everyday services in one place, often with a built-in wallet. WeChat and Alipay in China, Grab in Southeast Asia, Gojek in Indonesia and Careem in the Middle East are common examples. The logic is to win a user once with a frequent service, such as payments or rides, then sell them other services at low extra cost (economies of scope), and use the data for credit or advertising. Example: if it costs 20 to acquire a user, earning 5 a year from rides alone takes four years to pay back, but adding another 5 a year from payments and food halves that time. Super-apps have been harder to build where users already rely on strong single-purpose apps.
Where does it come up in case interview prep?
- Payments and fintech: players, trends, regulation, and how to crack the casesLesson in Payments and fintech
- How internet platforms, marketplaces, and digital ads workLesson in Internet platforms, marketplaces, and digital advertising
- Internet platforms: players, super-apps, trends, regulation, and how to crack the casesLesson in Internet platforms, marketplaces, and digital advertising
Related terms
- Economies of scopeCost falls when related products share resources.
- Network effectsA product becomes more valuable as more people use it.
- CAC (customer acquisition cost)What it costs, on average, to win one new customer.
- BundlingSelling several products together for one price.
- Annual recurring revenue (ARR)The yearly value of all active subscription contracts at a point in time.
- Net revenue retention (NRR)How much recurring revenue a group of existing customers brings in a year later.
- CAC payback periodHow many months of gross profit it takes to earn back the cost of winning a customer.
- Rule of 40A software company's growth rate plus its profit margin should add up to at least 40 percent.