Halal lifestyle super apps: key service quality attributes from online reviews

Purpose The advent of super apps aims to increase user convenience and service performance by consolidating various services into a unified platform. Despite the emergence of faith-based super apps, little is known about their key performance attributes valued by users. This study aims to identify the unique set of key service quality attributes of halal lifestyle super apps, grouped into two types: functional and experiential. Design/methodology/approach In total, 2,459 user comments gathered from a popular super app catering to the halal lifestyle market were analyzed using Leximancer. Findings Analysis revealed 11 key service quality themes of halal lifestyle super apps: “app,” “time,” “ads,” “premium,” “adhan,” “read,” “phone,” “useful,” “account” and “better,” with “thank” representing an outcome and indirect driver of halal lifestyle super app service quality. Faith-based needs such as accurate prayer times, reliable adhan notifications and Quran-related features were particularly salient within the functional-type attributes. Users generally had positive sentiments toward halal lifestyle super apps. Practical implications The findings enable lifestyle brand managers to design, develop and benchmark super apps for their halal markets based on the uncovered themes and the functional–experiential framework, ensuring both operational reliability and values-based alignment. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to explore the service quality of halal lifestyle super apps by analyzing actual user feedback using Leximancer. This paper defines halal lifestyle super apps and uncovers the combination of service quality dimensions applicable to the faith-based super app service environment. By linking general super app service quality features to faith-specific user expectations, this paper contributes to the literature on digital service quality and Islamic Marketing. This paper provides further managerial insights to design and benchmark super apps to meet the lifestyle needs of halal markets.