The much-written about super app from the stable of India's oldest business conglomerate the Tatas, Tata Neu, arrived yesterday amidst complaints of registration difficulty and OTP errors. Tatas, who promise to offer a swathe of services through the app, have to iron out the issues quickly.
Tata Neu aims to take on Reliance and Amazon in the race to become the most popular super consumer app, addressing 12 segments including grocery, electronics, flights, hotels, health, beauty, luxury, cricket, entertainment and others.
Formally launching the app Neu, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons Group, posted on his official LinkedIn page that the app, which was created by Tata Digital, will bring all of the company’s brands into one powerful app. "Our aim is to make the lives of Indian consumers simpler and easier. The power of choice, a seamless experience, and loyalty will be at the centre of Tata Neu, delivering a powerful One Tata experience," he added.
Pratik Pal, CEO, Tata Digital, said: "The journey of Tata Neu began with a cumulative consumer base of 120 million users, 2,500 offline stores, along with an 80 million app footprint across our digital assets. It will continue to grow as more brands and categories get onboarded."
Tata Neu - What will you get in it
The Tata Neu app is available for download on both Google Play Store and iOS app store. The app, which till yesterday was available to Tata employees and chosen users, is now open to all.
The multi-utility app, which has been delayed for various reasons, would allow users to make payments for their mobile phones, shop for jewellery, place orders for one’s daily grocery, buy electronics goods in Tata-owned entities.
"As the Tata Neu app goes live today, it makes me proud to see so many of our trusted and loved brands Air Asia, BigBasket, Croma, IHCL, Qmin, Starbucks, Tata 1Mg, Tata AIG, Tata Capital, Tata CLiQ, Tata Play, Westside on the Tata Neu platform already, and Vistara, Air India, Titan, Tanishq, Tata Motors, Tata AIA soon to join," Chandrasekaran said.
Moreover, Tata Neu also comes with a rewards program - NeuPass. The Tata Group will offer loyalty rewards, named NeuCoins, to the customers of the various services and goods of the companies in the Tata Group ambit. The one-stop shop reward points will seamlessly accrue to user of the super app irrespective of which Tata company they do business with. The existing loyalty system of the various Tata companies will be dispensed with going forward, and everything will be linked to the NeuCoins, which is reported to be equivalent to one Indian rupee. Members earn 5% NeuCoins or more every time they shop, dine, or travel via Tata Neu. Further, NeuPass members will enjoy several benefits like free deliveries, exclusive offers, built-in credit line, early access to product launches and brand-specific privileges.
Tata Neu members can use credit cards, debit cards, online banking, pre-paid instruments, UPI, Tata Pay Balance, or any other form of payment enabled by Tata Pay. Users can also pay via QR code using Tata Pay UPI, just like Google Pay or Paytm.
Teething troubles
@tata_neu first day and experience is not good..! Not able to login only #TataNeu pic.twitter.com/iAaTj2XdeJApril 7, 2022
Not surprisingly, the super app was off to a chequered start. Neu reportedly had a download of over 5 lakh on the first day in its Android version, and many users complained (on social media platforms) about sign-up issues and slow response time.
To register on the Tata Neu app, users have to provide their mobile number, get an OTP, and provide the same to the app for verification. But this process didn't happen seamlessly yesterday. The OTP didn't arrive for some. For some other, the OTP wasn't accepted by the app.
For a few the issue was the email ID they provide for full registration was not accepted. The app said that the email ID is already registered and showed: “something is wrong”.
And the shopping experience for some was also less than satisfactory. There were also those who opined that the app was 'heavy and buggy' to use. It takes a few seconds to switch from one sub-app to another, and there was also buffering in some cases.
Such a large-scale launch is bound to have such starting troubles. But it also shows the challenge that the $103-billion and 154-year-old Tata Group will face in the battle with Amazon and Jio for India’s burgeoning $55 billion e-commerce industry.
