The on-demand service industry is a quickly emerging one, giving many new startups a shot, whether they focus on food delivery or digital butler assistance. Existing messaging app Line, which is known for its adorable sticker animations, is diversifying by offering a digital butler service. This follows other recent ventures from the Japan-based and Korean-owned company, including on-demand taxis, in-app payments and music and video streaming.
Scheduled to launch this month in Thailand, Line app's new offering is the first to come out of their new Bangkok-based research and development team. With an active monthly user base of 215 million, Line is pursuing a number of ways to monetize. The R&D branch in particular is tasked with creating apps and services for local markets in Asia.
What's Driving This Trend
- Digital Butler Assistance
- Messaging apps can provide a platform for direct access to digital butler services that cater to specific local markets.
- In-app Service Monetization
- Apps with large user bases, like messaging apps, can leverage their popularity to monetize by offering additional on-demand services.
- Expansion of On-demand Services
- The emergence of on-demand services is creating opportunities for tech companies to expand beyond their traditional offerings and diversify their revenue streams.
Who This Affects Most
- Messaging Apps
- Messaging apps can leverage their existing user bases to offer new on-demand services and diversify their revenue streams.
- On-demand Services
- New on-demand services are emerging, creating opportunities for startups to disrupt traditional industries and for established companies to diversify their offerings.
- Mobile Payment and Banking
- Messaging apps can potentially evolve into mobile payment and banking platforms, and expand their services in this new market.
