Is it time to say Tata to Neu?
7th April 2022 was an eagerly awaited date in the Indian business ecosystem in the world of mobile apps. With a lot of fanfare and rampant promotion on Indian Premier League (IPL), Tata Neu was launched with general availability (GA) for all users. So, what is the hype around Tata Neu?
With multifarious applications operating across India to provide cab services, food delivery, online shopping coupled with the success of WeChat in China, Grab in Southeast Asia and Careem in Middle East, Tata Group decided to take a plunge into the world of super apps by building Tata Neu as the first super app in India. The concept of super-apps is not new to India with Ola and Swiggy entering into niche areas of mobility services and food delivery as a super app in a specific category. There was never an application which would cover everything from food delivery to online shopping to entertainment and that’s what Tata Neu planned to address. Till 7th April 2022, it was one of the most anticipated launches of an application in India. But sometimes things don’t go as planned and Tata Neu has been battling a sinking ship already 3rd day into its launch. 3 days into launch, the application has only 2200 downloads with rating hovering around 3.6 stars in the world of paid reviews. That speaks volumes of the struggle Tata Neu is facing despite the build up around it. All does not end here for Tata Neu. It has myriad of problems in it, but it also has positives to get inspired from. Let’s start with what could have driven the app to greater heights.
1. Robust A/B testing : The entry point/landing page into an application is the first impression that can last for a long time. The constant struggle faced by many people to enter the app despite entering the correct OTP set the tone for disgruntlement amongst many users including me. With the pedigree of Tata, I am sure that A/B testing would have been comprehensive, but the quality of the general availability product definitely did not match the expectations that come with an application. The surprising part is that Tata Neu is not the first application by Tata. It has apps like Tata Cliq or 1mg which have a wonderful interface and seamless UX (user experience).
2. Platform Seamlessness: The key for any application to be sustainable lies in its ability to be robust across interfaces and transitions across screens. I encountered multiple instances, where the screen simply went black if I transitioned through multiple screens. A seamless experience irrespective of the offerings is the main barometer for any app’s success and Tata Neu is still not at par with the standard levels.
3. Lack of clarity on Super-Apps definition: The definition of super-apps varies across different fronts, but the bare minimum is to have cab services and food deliveries enabled via the super app. Tata Neu has failed by not being able to partner with existing cab aggregators to provide a means to book cab services. It has compensated for food delivery via Qmin service of Tata. However, this still deprives the users access to all the restaurants and cafes nearby that are not affiliated with the Tata group leading to limited choices
4. Missing details: Some details have been clearly missed out in the launch of Tata Neu. The broadband pay service does not have its own broadband offering of Tata Play. In addition, flight services still include Air Asia despite the erstwhile Air India now belonging to the Tata Group. This again limits the options for the users and will make them shift to the traditional apps rather than depending on Tata Neu for all its services.
Despite the plethora of problems, Tata Neu does justice to the look and feel by giving a modern touch in the black background and introducing new concepts like Neu Coins for discounts and providing offering for entertainment, IPL and financial services via UPI. The editorials and stories on the app are big plus for an educated user to navigate through the app and learn something new. This is a novelty which will hold Tata Neu in good stead in the coming days. Amidst all this, the burning question is whether it is time to announce the demise of Tata Neu or give it time to settle itself?
In this dynamic and competitive world, there is no time for second chances. However, the extremely varied nature of India’s services ecosystem and the reluctance of users to shift away form traditional apps like Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, Uber, MakeMyTrip, Paytm makes it imperative for Tata Neu to start thinking differently immediately and build partnerships to be able to sustain itself. One cannot operate a super-app only through its affiliated restaurants or platforms. Tata has to exercise its pedigree and hold over the Indian market to build partnerships with existing players to enable the users to shift easily to Tata Neu and leverage the user base of apps like Swiggy, Ola and Uber. Grab did a similar thing by acquiring Uber to have a stronghold in cab service across Southeast Asia. In addition, Tata Neu needs to move away from sole Tata affiliations and allow all other restaurants to list itself. Such changes can still revive Tata Neu and establish India’s first super app.
Finally, the technical team needs to establish a rampant checklist to ensure that all the features are tested end to end amongst test users (> 1000) to ensure that the general available(GA) product does not face the rave reviews that Tata Neu is facing right now.
All is not lost, but a lot of strategic partnerships, changes and thinking is required to ensure that India does not say Tata to Neu in the next 2–3 months.
