Payments company Klarna has launched a new shopping app that takes the company from offering payments into being a shopping gateway-cum-quasi-marketplace that links online stores with offers and payments all in one place.
As the app economy grows, consumers face an increasingly cluttered and confusing landscape of ecommerce apps – which can be frustrating and time-wasting for the consumer. Klarna claims to have solved this by launching what it sees to be “the only app consumers need”.
Using the super-app consumers can shop at all online stores through the Klarna app, explore exclusive deals and personalised shopping collections, save items and unlock price drop notifications, view items’ delivery tracking, manage payments and returns,and more.
With Klarna’s interest-free shopping feature consumers can now use Klarna’s payment methods at all online shops, regardless of whether they are directly partnered with Klarna or not. The new Klarna app will fundamentally change the end to end shopping experience, placing consumers firmly in control with an app that meets their real needs.
The app has been tested in a few markets for some time, including the UK, but is now being launched in 10 new markets. With the updates, Klarna’s app, with its more than 18 million monthly users globally, continues to be a growth engine for Klarna – affiliated merchants.
Mobile commerce continues to grow at a tremendous rate, with retail app downloads in the UK increasing by 36% in the last two years and in-app purchases by 54%*. While the rise of e-commerce has made shopping more accessible than ever before, it has also created friction throughout the shopping journey. Today people want streamlined, integrated experiences that respond to their specific needs while also saving them time and money.
Additional features will soon become available that will further bridge the gap between shopping and payments. This includes a collective loyalty card space, additional money-saving tools, social features such as live shopping events and product data that will make price history, reviews, and store availability visible; and much more. Klarna will also enable third-party integrations going forward to provide even more solutions and services that will make Klarna the ultimate shopping browser of the future.
A recent global survey conducted by Klarna revealed that 70% of consumers would choose a single shopping app that allows them to perform multiple actions in place of having to switch between apps. Over 68% of respondents rated simplicity in the shopper journey and time saving as the two most significant benefits. The new Klarna shopping app answers this call, giving consumers everything they need right at their fingertips – eliminating the need to switch between several apps.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna comments: “Today people seek simplicity that solves for their specific needs in one place and enables a range of activities across their shopping journey. Switching between apps is something we as consumers find more and more frustrating. Today we are announcing a major milestone on our journey to helping people save time and money and giving them more control over their finances. With the introduction of our new app, Klarna becomes an end to end shopping service that caters to many needs – from inspiration and discovery to seamless post-purchase experiences. Meanwhile, we’ve made transparent and flexible payments a possibility everywhere because we believe no one should ever have to pay credit card fees or high-interest rates.”
