Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran gave a sneak peek of the ‘TataNeu’ super app to its senior leadership on Tuesday. While the commercial launch of the TataNeu is still some months away as several pieces are yet to fall in place, the group will open up the platform only for use among its employees.
The conglomerate wants to tap its huge workforce of over 7 lakh people, a ready user base, for the super app pilot study.
A super app — the term was coined by Blackberry founder Mike Lazaridis in 2010 — is many apps within an umbrella app. While some group apps like BigBasket, 1MG, Taj, Croma and AirAsia have boarded TataNeu, its other apps like Titan, Tanishq, Cliq and Starbucks are yet to get onto it. The move comes in the wake of the government proposing tough e-commerce rules.
TataNeu will have a new loyalty programme where customers can earn points redeemable for any other buys made on the platform. While the Tata Group is the first to get the ball rolling on a super app, a Bank of America report released in August said, “India has the potential to have 3-4 super apps”. One of the appealing features of a super app is that it cleans up a smartphone’s home screen, a valuable piece of digital real estate.
