Remember the days of standing at the reservation counter of an airline company to buy your ticket? Neither do I. Thanks to the transformative effects of tech, industries like transport, food deliveries, groceries and travel bookings, amongst others, are a swipe away.
A big reason for the success of these businesses is that they do one thing, and they do it well. By zooming in on a single problem and solving it effectively, businesses can quickly acquire a targeted user base and build a reputation for reliably offering a service. Travel companies such as Skyscanner and Airbnb thrive on this model by growing and building a solid user base through a focus on customer satisfaction and retention.
Similarly, over the past decade, we have seen a rise in faith-based apps that were produced with a single utilitarian purpose in mind, such as providing accurate prayer times or locating the direction of the Qibla.
However, single-purpose apps – even successful ones – often don’t create enough consistent usage or demand to build a sustainable business in the long run, given the isolated function that they offer. Apps need to evolve with the times to reflect the demands of modern day-to-day life.
Diversification as the way forward
If we look at companies that are really leading the pack globally, diversification is key to many of their strategies. Popularly known as super apps, these are one-stop-shop apps that offer multiple services, including shopping, ride-hailing, groceries and banking through a single user interface.
For apps, diversifying their services helps to mitigate risks, makes the most of their current user base, and gives them access to entirely new audience segments by extending their core offering.
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This approach makes more sense, given that the average person has about 40 apps on their mobile device but spends nearly 90 per cent of their time on less than half of them. Not surprisingly, in ASEAN, super apps are growing rapidly – from a market valuation of US$4 billion in 2020 to hitting a forecasted value of US$23 billion by 2025.
All this is to say that there is a massive opportunity for faith-based apps, such as ourselves, to diversify our offering and bridge the gap for tech-savvy users looking for relevant products and services. This is particularly true for Muslim users. Globally, the Muslim population stands at 1.9 billion, but there are only a handful of global lifestyle apps available to serve their needs.
Among users of the Muslim Pro app, a survey found that seven in ten respondents struggled with having to tap into multiple sources and platforms when seeking viewer-appropriate content. Based on these insights and learnings from how other successful apps have grown, it’s clear that a diversified all-in-one platform is a crucial first step to meeting the demand for Muslim-centric lifestyle solutions.
Creating a faith-based super app
From prayers and other daily rituals to dietary requirements, fashion and media consumption, religion has an expansive influence on the day-to-day lifestyle of its practitioners. It is only natural for users to value the convenience of having all their go-to resources available on a single platform, where they can access the content they need in a seamless manner.
To this end, the Muslim Pro app has recently expanded its services into Qalbox; a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming platform that celebrates the best of Muslim-friendly entertainment. With hundreds of hours of films, documentaries, kids’ programmes and more, Qalbox offers content that is thoughtfully curated and carefully moderated in accordance with strict guidelines and experts, giving communities peace of mind through platform-based compliance.
For us, this is only the start. It is no easy task to continuously understand, meet and address gaps in user demands, but this is critical for any business or app looking to deliver solutions that are helpful and sustainable in the long term. Regardless of the platform, this remains an ever-evolving challenge – but one that presents opportunities for growth.
Super apps that are leading the pack across the region are doing so by keeping a finger on the pulse of consumer needs. For those of us seeking to close the gap in the faith-based lifestyle market, there is much we can learn and adapt from these success stories to achieve the same.
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