Uber and Rappi on travel strategies and “super app” ambitions

The term “super app” has become a buzzword that often is used in reference to platforms that make moves to expand beyond their original focus and to offer multiple, frequent-use solutions for consumers.

While some of the most common super apps are in Asia, such as Grab, WeChat and Alipay, the concept is gaining traction in the west, in part due to the growth of apps such as Rappi, which now has more than 30 million users across 350 cities in nine countries including Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. 

Since its founding in 2015, Rappi has grown to offer restaurant and grocery delivery, retail products, digital payments, insurance and – since 2020 – travel products.

A newer entrant into super app territory is Uber, which in recent years has expanded beyond ride-share to offer food and package delivery, freight and - in ongoing testing in the United Kingdom – travel content such as rail, coach and flight bookings. 

So what are these two companies learning as they expand their product catalogs into travel? How are they working with partners to create attractive travel offerings? And how are they convincing users – who might traditionally open their apps only at the moment they need to order a ride or food – to turn to it weeks or months in advance to book their next vacation? 

Rappi’s global head of travel, Guido Becher, and Uber’s head of growth and new products for airports and travel, Loren Kosloske, answered those questions and discussed their companies' travel ambitions during a Center Stage session at The Phocuswright Conference.

Becher explained how Rappi is working with partners such as Marriott and Amadeus and the benefits he believes the app can provide for travel suppliers. 

And Kosloske shared details on the engagement Uber is seeing as it tests train, coach and flight bookings in the U.K. and the next steps in the company’s road map for travel.

Watch the full discussion below.