In recent years, the number of superapps(SuperApp) in Uzbekistan has increased significantly. Such a trend is not bad: the market is in motion, companies are trying to grow, looking for new paths. In short, "life exists."
But the superapp model has a classic trap. As soon as the app's functionality improves, the team will have the same mood: "let's add this service too," "let's plug it in too," "this one would be completely ideal." Thus, good intentions gradually become a habit that makes the product more difficult.
Actually, the idea of a super app is very correct: like a supermarket. Standing in one place, you can solve several tasks at once. It saves time for a person and is convenient for their hands. Theoretically - amazing.
But in practice, many superapp companies are taking a different path. Within one application, completely unrelated services stand side by side: stocks get mixed up with movies, insurance with delivery, finance with entertainment content. There are all of them, but they are all "foreign" to each other.
At this point, comfort gradually turns into disorder. For the user, this is noise: unnecessary banners, unnecessary menus, unclear roads. It becomes difficult to find the most important thing. A person asks himself: "Why did I even come here?"
It's not easy for the company itself. The brand is blurred, the position is fragmented: "Who are we? What are we responsible for? What is our main benefit?" Attention is distracted, and trust in the product can easily be lost.
The author says that he saw this situation with his own eyes 15 years ago using the example of Olam.uz. At that time, Olam.uz was one of the largest internet projects in the country, striving to become "everything for everyone." It seemed that there were more sections, more opportunities, but the product itself became heavier: more content, less meaning. The most important question - "why did I come here?" - remains unanswered. People are tired, interest is gone.
Now you can see a similar picture in some superapp.
However, the superapp model works best: when logically close services are combined within a single application, converging into a single scenario in everyday life. That is, services should "walk side by side" - complement each other, live on the same path.
Yandex Go is cited as a good example. They could have added music and movies to the app if they wanted to, but they're not doing that. Because they built a system around one scenario - movement, trip, logistics.
Another example is ATTO. Although they are expanded from the transport theme, they still don't go far from a single scenario. The user immediately understands where they came from and why they came.
Both contain clear answers to three questions: why a person enters, what they receive, and why they return.
If there are too many unrelated services in one place, the answers to these three questions will disappear. As a result, the problem affects everyone: the user - confusion and fatigue, the company - lost focus and weakened trust.
Interestingly, this isn't just about super apps. In SuperApps, these symptoms are only the fastest and most obvious. In reality, this is a universal rule for any product, any business: you can do a lot, but you don't have to put everything in one place.
Yes, it feels pleasant to be "everything." But the user needs a clear benefit, not "everything." The same applies to a product: it is strong when it fulfills its main function, not many things.
Taken from @beshtor channel
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