The Rise of China's Super Apps: Strategic Choice, Not Cultural Preference

The rise of super apps in China wasn't driven by user preference for convenience, but rather a confluence of unique market conditions. The article highlights China's mobile-first internet environment, where mobile apps dominated from the start, unlike the West's desktop-first approach. Tencent's WeChat and Alibaba's Alipay emerged to fill market gaps, not necessarily to optimize user experience. Fierce competition and a 'walled garden' strategy further incentivized integrating diverse services into single apps. Low consumer spending power also pushed companies to maximize revenue per user. Therefore, the super app model is a strategic response to specific market conditions, not cultural preference, and shouldn't be blindly copied by companies in other countries.