Tata Neu unique is the salt-to-software conglomerate’s overarching presence in India, a country of 1.4 billion people. As the adage goes, there cannot be a single Indian household without at least one Tata product. Tata runs airlines, sells appliances, distributes software products, provides digital communication services and whatnot. To top it all, these will be available on the Tata Neu app and much more through third-party labels. Besides its payment system Tata Pay, the platform offers an array of deals and discounts similar to other players. “India has a huge consumer base that is increasing every year. They are highly aspirational. Our purpose at Tata Digital is to be a trusted partner for the Indian consumers to have a better life,” said Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Sons group. Alongside in-house brands, other big and small names will be able to sell their products through the app eventually. Before launching Tata Neu, the Tata group was on a shopping spree, such as acquiring online grocer leader Big Basket and digital pharmacy 1mg. Tata Sons, the holding company, has pumped in over $US15 million into Tata Digital this year alone – the highest amount the giant has invested in e-commerce in a year. “People are booking hotels, buying groceries, electronics and looking at various other categories. It is a very good sign that they are doing multi-category shopping across brands. There is also a road map in place for onboarding new categories,” said Pratik Pal, CEO of the Tata Digital while addressing a conference in mid-April. If the initial enthusiasm is any indication of its potential success, Tata Neu is in a good spot. Within the first week of its launch, there were 2.2 million downloads and the number of transactions is encouraging. “At this point, it is an app that knits every one of its physical enterprises onto an e-platform that offers the delight an app brings to the browsing, choosing, ordering, and enjoying the experience,” said Harish Bijoor, business and brand strategy specialist who runs the firm Harish Bijoor Consults. Added Bijoor: “Tata Neu will be what it is meant to be when it becomes a one-stop-shop for every craving, every need and indeed every desire.” Karan Taurani, senior vice president at financial advisory and consulting firm Elara Capital, said the key advantage for Tata Neu will be the “trust factor” – a key element in online shopping today. “Given Tata’s longstanding legacy of selling trustworthy products and services, this will play a huge role,” he said. “Secondly, Tata already has a customer base of hundreds of millions. This platform will help bring them under a single umbrella from across verticals. This is an unmatched proposition to the consumers as against the pure-play commission-based model. Because the entire supply chain from inventory to households can be brought under a smooth control.” The Tata group is sitting on enormous and unrivalled consumer data from its rich experience in serving Indian consumers for over a century. So, it’s only a matter of time before they tap into it. The name ‘super app’ is apt. It’s a singular digital platform where a consumer can shop for clothes, purchase groceries, buy medicines, pay utility bills, skim through social media sites, book hotels, or even flight tickets. Unlike China’s WeChat– which boasts a billion users globally – or Grab and Gojek of Southeast Asia, India’s super app ecosystem is still nascent. Not many existing virtual platforms can claim to be a super app with possible exceptions of the locally grown Paytm and Reliance’s MyJio app, launched in 2010 and 2016 respectively. Others like Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart offer a range of services but have a long way to go. Facilitated by low data prices and increasing smartphone penetration across India’s hinterlands, the e-commerce operations especially through mobile applications have radically grown over the recent years in the country. The pandemic has only made the digitisation of the Indian retail landscape faster. Industry figures expect the country’s e-commerce market to touch $US188 billion by 2025 from $US45 billion in 2020. During the 12 months ending March 2022, payments worth $US1.09 trillion were processed by the United Payments Interface (UPI) – a state-governed omnichannel payment system. Nevertheless, the existing platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm, and Reliance’s MyJio can pose a challenge to Tata Neu given that they have the rich digital expertise whereas the Tata group is only gradually shifting its businesses from offline to online.