The Priority SuperApps Survey

With Elon Musk promising to turn Twitter (now “X”) into the world’s  SuperApp  we thought it would be fun to ask the Priority team which SuperApp they use most, and what do you use it for? Responses, from the eight countries where we operate, are enlightening if not altogether scientific.

With Elon Musk promising to turn Twitter (now “X”) into the world’s  SuperApp  we thought it would be fun to ask the Priority team which SuperApp they use most, and what do you use it for? Responses, from the eight countries where we operate, are enlightening if not altogether scientific.

Unsurprisingly, Grab is in the lead which is due to its availability across 500 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries and still growing. Gojek is also in seven countries of SE Asia plus Australia, but in terms of popularity with the Priority crowd it still comes a distant second behind the market leader. (Perhaps Number Two should try harder - bonus points if you remember that tagline!)China’s WeChat and Alipay are increasingly available and useful for anyone who travels often to China, while India has a number of local SuperApps not available elsewhere, such as PayTM. Looking at the sector’s recent history of rapid and well-supported corporate moves, we wonder if Grab will spread across India or, on the other hand, whether PayTM will take over Southeast Asia.

Priority folks obviously don’t spend much time in the kitchen and their favourite SuperApp is used for ordering food more than anything else. This is no flash in the saucepan - the online food delivery market in Southeast Asia is projected to reach US$30bn this year, and grow at a CAGR of 17.25 percent to reach a market volume of US$57bn by 2027. Among our colleagues, using their SuperApp for arranging deliveries and booking taxis come a close second.

The convenience factor comes strongly to the fore when we look at other shopping habits. Fully 50 percent of our colleagues use their SuperApp to buy clothes and shoes - we have no data on returns, so we can only hope that clothes bought online actually fit!

Our survey becomes most interesting when we look at how our colleagues take advantage of their SuperApp for financial applications. SuperApp developers saw right from the start that this sector offered a huge opportunity for expansion beyond ordering rides and food delivery.  A report by Google, Bain and Company and Temasek identified more than 70% of the adult population of the region is either “underbanked” or “unbanked.” Governments across the region are keen to promote digital banking solutions, and they are preaching to an already converted digital native audience. While legacy financial institutions are striving to keep up with the new challenger banks that have won licenses to provide digital services, the convenience of everything in a single app is most appealing. Close to 40 percent of respondents to our survey are using their SuperApp to view and manage their banking activity.

Our survey becomes most interesting when we look at how our colleagues take advantage of their SuperApp for financial applications. SuperApp developers saw right from the start that this sector offered a huge opportunity for expansion beyond ordering rides and food delivery.  A report by Google, Bain and Company and Temasek identified more than 70% of the adult population of the region is either “underbanked” or “unbanked.” Governments across the region are keen to promote digital banking solutions, and they are preaching to an already converted digital native audience. While legacy financial institutions are striving to keep up with the new challenger banks that have won licenses to provide digital services, the convenience of everything in a single app is most appealing. Close to 40 percent of respondents to our survey are using their SuperApp to view and manage their banking activity.

Payment for everyday transactions via SuperApp is becoming more common, although for now still lagging behind digital wallets that hold all the customer’s virtual cards. One way or another, the phone is replacing cash.

The results of our survey confirmed what we already suspected – this particular demographic of educated, mostly young, working adults has embraced the convenience of SuperApps and is at the cutting edge of a social and financial revolution. Mr Musk and his counterparts in the West have their work cut out to match the ingenuity and achievements of our homegrown market leaders.