The Tata Group, a $103 billion Indian conglomerate whose businesses range from salt to software to telecom and steel, is ready to embrace consumer technology. To compete with Walmart-owned Flipkart, Amazon, and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms, the 154-year-old giant has been working on – and internally testing – its bold idea to offer a range of services in one app, ranging from e-commerce and food to hotel stays. The “super app” Tata Neu was released to the public on Thursday, the culmination of years of work.
Tata Neu contains approximately a dozen properties that the Tata Group either owns or has a strong involvement in. BigBasket, an online grocery store, Croma, 1mg, a pharmaceutical service, Cliq, a luxury brand, and Tata Play, a streaming app, are among the services available, as are AirAsia tickets and Starbucks food and beverage. Tata Pay, the company’s UPI-enabled payments service that also offers loans and insurance, is also featured in the app.
Tata has been working on the app for at least three years, but it has been considering a larger role in e-commerce and startup investments for at least six years. a news organisation According to The Information, earlier talks between Tata and Alibaba came to a halt after Cyrus Mistry, the then-chairman of Tata Group, stepped down.
According to two people familiar with the situation, several executives at Tata Group were still divided as recently as January over how the app should be positioned. TechCrunch received early access to a February build of the app, which was riddled with problems and odd design flaws. According to testing conducted on Thursday, the new version of the app – 2.0 – is noticeably better.
Tata Neu is a big step forward in the company’s plan to compete in the booming world of digital services, which includes companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Walmart, as well as local billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s empire. India’s e-retail business, which is expected to grow to about $150 billion in the next four years, is at stake.
In a statement, Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran (shown above) said, “The Tata Group is focussed on transforming businesses for the digital world, and in the consumer context, bringing them together into a unified platform that offers an omnichannel experience.”
“With Tata Neu, we are focused on making the lives of Indian consumers easier. The power of choice, a seamless experience, and loyalty will be at the centre of Tata Neu, delivering a powerful One Tata experience to Indian consumers.”
Tata is rewarding clients with “NeuCoins,” which are the equal of one Indian rupee. According to a source acquainted with the situation, BigBasket, 1mg, and other loyalty programmes will soon be phased out, and NeuCoins will be used globally across all of the company’s services.
Tata Group is focusing on rewards as part of its effort to create a “connective layer” for its services, which span a wide range of sectors. If successful, the behemoth will be in a position to create the country’s largest loyalty programme. In addition to the benefits, the company will provide cash back and large discounts on things across all of its sites via the app, as well as free delivery, built-in credit lines, and early access to products, according to the company.
“The journey of Tata Neu has begun with a cumulative consumer base of 120 million users, 2,500 offline stores, along with an 80 million app footprint across our digital assets. We have over a dozen category-leading consumer brands ranging from electronics, fashion, travel, hospitality, groceries, pharmacy and financial services. We believe that with Tata Neu, we will create a highly differentiated consumer platform,” Pratik Pal, chief executive of Tata Digital, said in a statement.