They are convenient to use: Russian ecosystems have become more attractive to customers
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- They are convenient to use: Russian ecosystems have become more attractive to customers
The applications of Russian banks, operators, and digital companies are no longer a random set of functions combined under a single icon on a smartphone: now they are full-fledged ecosystems united by a single functionality. This conclusion was made by the Markswebb company that studied them. It is convenient to pay through them, subscribe, and order certain services of the company or its partners. According to the rating, the ecosystems of Sberbank and MTS have become the most convenient and user-friendly. About what opportunities are available to their users now and what innovations await them in the future, see the Izvestia article.
Which Russian ecosystems are the most user-friendly?
The ecosystems of Russian banks, operators, and digital companies from a banal set of services combined under a single "button" on a smartphone are becoming an important tool for communicating with customers and maintaining their loyalty. This follows from a Markswebb study reviewed by Izvestia. It analyzes in detail the ecosystems of Sberbank, MTS, Yandex (Yandex Go and Yandex Alice), T-Bank, and VK. So far, these ecosystems will not replace the basic applications, but companies are doing everything possible to improve the convenience and functionality, it says.
In each of the largest Russian ecosystems, 17 blocks of user tasks were considered (for example, bonus management, subscription registration, payment settings, etc.). "Each of them was decomposed into tasks — a total of 59 pieces. And they, in turn, are based on 450 evaluation criteria: they describe the possibilities that a client can solve in a digital service, and how these possibilities are implemented," the authors describe the research methodology.
According to Markswebb analysts, My MTS is currently the leader in the overall ranking among Russian ecosystems. In terms of the convenience of bonus management, this ecosystem (according to the Markswebb rating) received 80 points out of a possible 100. The nearest competitor, SberOnline— has 61 points. For the convenience of obtaining information about the ecosystem, My MTS received 52 points (26 from Sber). However, from the point of view of personalization of the application, that is, adjusting its content to the user's requests, the largest bank of Russia is in the first place (100 points). But MTS, the second in this indicator in the rating, is not far behind (88 points).
MTS is, in fact, the only mobile operator with its own full-fledged ecosystem, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. Other companies in the communications industry do not have it at all or it is less developed. The difference between the MTS ecosystem is that it is focused on technological services: video, clouds, and the like, which, in principle, corresponds to the business logic of an initially telecommunications company, the expert emphasizes. But there are also things that go beyond the telecom sector, such as ticket sales or electric scooter rentals, Denis Kuskov adds. That is, the company is trying to change all the most consumed services. He also emphasizes that MTS is not the only ecosystem in the Russian market, its competitors also have their advantages. For example, MTS does not have a taxi, Yandex does, the expert gives an example.
MTS is indeed not the only ecosystem in demand in the Russian Federation, Markswebb notes in its research. For example, Yandex received a 53-point rating for the convenience of bonus management, while T—Bank received a 40-point rating. In terms of personalization, the Yandex application with Alice support received 31 points, the T-Bank ecosystem — 38, etc.
What are superapp developers aiming for?
There is no single way for ecosystems to compete with each other in Russia yet, as follows from the Markswebb materials reviewed by Izvestia. "There is multidirectional activity within the services, some are actively implementing new integrations with ecosystem services, including external product transitions, while others, on the contrary, are abandoning some of the existing integrations, which indicates experiments with different approaches to the organization of the section." For example, Yandex.Go removed health, education, and cloud services from the application, but added music, an online cinema, and much more, the researchers note. Sber added, among other things, travel, cloud storage, and end—to-end integration between the main application and its subsidiary services. MTS has added a direct transition to services and the purchase of goods, Markswebb notes.
At the same time, as the researchers emphasize, the possibility of a seamless transition between services within the ecosystem is becoming increasingly important. "It becomes critical for the user to understand which services are available in the ecosystem and how quickly to use them. Therefore, increased attention is being paid to the convenience of navigation and presentation of information: the development of tools for searching and selecting partner services is a priority in the market, and My MTS is demonstrating the greatest growth in this direction. The trend leader is actively developing search and selection, including personal collections, stories, banners, and interest settings <...> In the My MTS catalog of services, he tells both clients and non-clients of the service in detail about what offers are available within the ecosystem. The description on the cards helps the user learn about the benefits of each product," says Markswebb.
Another important aspect that researchers are paying attention to is the customization of applications. There is a trend towards personalization not only in terms of content, but also in terms of interface, this direction reflects the desire to emphasize caring for users, they note. For example, in the Sbera application, you can change the background (for example, generate an image using the Kandinsky neural network). VK allows you to change the font size (which is important, for example, for those who have vision problems). "MTS shows the user not only what they can get in a subscription, but also how it will be useful to them — for example, children's services, if their interests are indicated," the study also says. In addition, MTS offers the client stories and banners, which really looks like personalization, as a service that is "tailored" personally for you, the author of this article was convinced by using it.
At the same time, Sergey Vilyanov, an analyst at Fintech Lab, calls the MTS application unobtrusive, meaning that the company persistently does not offer certain products and services in it.
— If you look at the applications of other companies, it turns out that they are aggressively trying to impose on the client something that he does not need and is often incompatible. In this regard, we can say that MTS behaves tactfully: in its application you can find what you went there for, but, conditionally, instead of ordering food, a ride on a scooter will not be imposed on you," the expert points out.
However, Russian ecosystems still have room to grow, according to the Markswebb report. For example, Chinese Alipay offered users end-to-end recommendations from various ecosystem services, in particular, the selection of relevant products based on online reviews. "The user can specify several product requirements. For example, "recommend a gaming mouse within 100 yuan" — and artificial intelligence will offer options, keeping in mind several parameters at once. After responding, the bot sends links to articles from which information is taken, and you can also proceed to purchase the product," Markswebb points out in its research.
What are the prospects for the ecosystem market
What awaits Russian ecosystem users in the near future? First, gamification, according to Markswebb. Ecosystem developers are just beginning to implement this method of attracting and retaining customers, her analysts emphasize. For example, Yandex is actively developing game mechanics within its ecosystem through two projects: Plus City and Plus Daily, which motivate users to interact with the company's services and receive bonuses for this, they report. Plus City is a game simulator of city construction and development with tasks and mini-games. During the game, users earn Plus points, and integration with Yandex services makes the game even deeper: using the company's various services can accelerate the development of the city and open up new gaming opportunities.
Plus Daily is a reward program in which users receive Plus points and promo codes for performing simple actions in Yandex services.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for some users to give subscriptions to others, as T—Bank already does.
Thirdly, it is the development of artificial intelligence-based services, as well as the creation of digital passports, the researchers believe. "MTS offers functions for storing digital documents such as passport, INN, SNILS, which simplifies access to ecosystem services. The data can be pulled up, and the user does not need to re-enter it to access any service that requires this data. Initially, this feature was only available in banking applications, and MTS is one of the first non—financial services to adopt this practice," the Markswebb study notes.
Unlike many companies and banks, MTS sells only those services that it controls itself — there are many options in its application, but the company does not impose them on customers, says Sergey Polovnikov, head of the Content-Review project. In other words, the company does not just act as an intermediary, but is responsible for the quality of the services it offers to customers. From the perspective of prospects, this approach is optimal: unlike, for example, China, Russian users are not ready to consume all imaginable services from a single application. A reasonable, not very intrusive offer of a relatively small but relevant set of high—quality services is the future of this segment of the Russian digital market, the expert concludes.
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