Rakuten Viber prides itself as a super app for the country. This comes from the new features the app has been integrating over the years, designed to strengthen connections between users and businesses.
According to Rakuten Viber, 84% of internet usage in the country come from mobile devices and 92% of shoppers use their phones to complete transactions.
For Rakuten Viber, this is an opportunity to become the all-in-one super app platform. In the near future, they intend to release new features and solutions to further bolster the connection between customers and businesses.
One of these solutions is enhancing Viber for Business, such as new advertising formats for improved visibility and engagement, brand placement opportunities, and AI-powered ads that would let users ask questions about a product and learn more about it directly within the ad banner.
These updates have been developed as a result of the steep increase in brand-user interactions the app has seen in 2024, with:
- 862 million average monthly impressions for Viber Ads in the Philippines.
- 53% growth in business messages delivered to users
- 89% surge in transactional messages, such as delivery updates and purchase confirmations
- 34% increase in promotional messages, including exclusive deals and personalized special offers
- 95% growth in conversational messages between brands and users, with users often turning to live agents or automated chatbots for customer support and around-sales assistance.
Viber Dating launched to connect real people
One of the new features that surprised me is Viber Dating. Viber bills this feature as building meaningful relationships in a safe and secure environment that protects privacy. Basically, this feature operates like a separate tab that hides most details, and using Viber's classic messaging features as the avenue for conversations for people meeting up. Viber ensures that verified users will be the only ones who have access to this feature.
Rakuten Viber CEO Ofir Eyal emphasized the Philippines’ crucial role in the company’s global strategy: "The Philippines holds a special place for us, often serving as the launchpad for our key products. Local insights play a vital role in shaping our global innovations. At the same time, as an international super app, we bring global trends to the Philippines. This inspires us to continually introduce new features and solutions, ensuring every innovation is both relevant and impactful. Our latest updates reflect our vision of creating a super app that simplifies everyday life by offering services to meet daily needs."
It's also interesting that Viber is preparing the Viber Pay feature, a digital wallet.
Eyal cited an example during the event: When buyers chat with sellers, the usual flow would go with the buyer, minimizing the chat app to open their digital wallets, make the transaction, take a screenshot, and send that image back to the seller via chat. Rakuten Viber aims to reduce the number of steps taken from that extended process by integrating a solution of their own.
Eyal also said that they are working on compliance requirements so Viber Pay will be able to have credit and debit cards by the end of 2025. Right now, Viber Pay is active as an invite only for beta testing purposes, and the full release is expected sometime by the end of Q2.