Klarna

Klarna brings its price comparison tool to Europe • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 14, 2022Posted in Amazon, Apps, Commerce, Google, Klarna, PriceRunnerNo Comments

Klarna is expanding into the competitive world of price comparisons, with the launch of a new tool that compares prices across thousands of retailers. The company quietly rolled out the price comparison service in the U.S. a few weeks back, and is now extending this into additional markets in Europe including The U.K. and the Nordics. The European “buy now, pay later” fintech has had a turbulent year, laying off 10% of its workforce in May followed by a second round of layoffs in September. Sandwiched in between, news emerged that Klarna had raised $800 million in funding, albeit at a valuation 85% lower than the previous year, a trend that has echoed elsewhere across the fintech sphere and beyond. With today’s announcement, Klarna is building on an acquisition that closed just six months ago, when it snapped up comparison shopping service PriceRunner in a $124 million deal. At the time, it said that it would use the acquisition to power new features in the core Klarna app, including produce search and price comparisons — and that is what it has been rolling out over the past few weeks. It’s a notable expansion for Klarna, which has hitherto been better known for a service that allows consumers to buy goods through third-party retailers in instalments. Moving forward, the Klarna app will not only serve as a payment network, but a “single shopping destination” for finding the cheapest deals and paying. Digging into the specifics, the new price comparison smarts allow customers to filter their searches by criteria such as size, color, ratings, availability, shipping options, and more. On top of that, Klarna shows shoppers historical pricing data, which shows how the cost has fluctuated over time and whether they should buy now, or wait a little longer to see if the price goes down. A ‘credible alternative’ The company said that the tool is designed to serve as a “credible alternative” to other shopping services from the likes of Google and Amazon. Indeed, PriceRunner is in fact in the process of suing Google for more than $2 billion in Europe, alleging that the internet giant continues to breach a 2017 antitrust enforcement order against Google Shopping. The long and short of that case involves Google allegedly giving prominence to its own comparison shopping service in Google Search results. And this is why Klarna is pushing the message here that its own price comparison product is “unbiased” in the results that it serves up. “You could spend the whole day comparing offers at conventional search engines or marketplaces, but you’ll always have doubts — have I really found the best product at the best price?,” Klarna cofounder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in a press release. “Klarna’s new search and compare tool does the hard work for consumers and compares thousands of websites in real time to ensure they have all the information they need to make informed and confident purchase decisions.”

Klarna launches new creator features and shoppable video • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 19, 2022Posted in Apps, Commerce, e-commerce, Fintech, Klarna, online shopping, retailersNo Comments

As consumers turn to content creators to influence their online shopping habits, Klarna, the buy now, pay later platform, today launched a new Klarna Creator app for retailers and influencers to collaborate on brand campaigns and to track earnings, performance and sales. Klarna’s creator platform allows over 50,000 vetted creators to have access to leading brands and retailers. Retailers can use the app to direct message a creator they want to partner with and send them products for content. The app also has a tracking feature to watch sales and commissions. The new creator tool is available for desktops, iOS devices and Android devices. Separately, the company also announced new features and updates to its Klarna platform, which rolled out to the U.S. today. These include shoppable video content, a new search and discovery tool, as well as a donations feature and an upgraded CO2e tracker. Image Credits: Klarna Over 150 million global consumers use Klarna’s platform for its flexible payment options. Consumers can shop from 400,000 retailers on the app while having the choice to pay immediately, pay later or pay over time. With today’s announcement, the Sweden-based company hopes to move beyond being just a payment platform but a place for consumers to search and discover, for influencers to create content and for retailers to promote their products. “Seventeen years ago, Klarna started as a place where you could pay…With this latest product release, we strengthen our position as a true shopping utility for consumers and a growth partner for retailers and lay the groundwork for a new era of shopping where the entirety of the world’s commerce will be condensed into one single point,” Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told ZebethMedia. The most notable feature added to Klarna’s platform is the “Watch and shop” widget. According to Klarna’s 2022 Holiday report, 65% of Gen Z favor video content when shopping online. So, as Gen Z shoppers turn to video-based platforms like TikTok and Instagram, consumers can also go to Klarna for video content that’s specifically tailored for shopping and discovering products by well-known brands. At launch, 70 cosmetics brands use the feature, such as Haus Labs By Lady Gaga, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Keys Soulcare and more, with videos on the app ranging from unboxings, tutorials and reviews. Consumers can also save videos of brands they like or add them to their wishlists. Since soft launching “Watch and shop” three months ago, the brands “see an average click-through rate 3x higher than click-through rates of social media platforms,” Siemiatkowski claimed. Image Credits: Klarna The new search and compare tool allows consumers to look up what products are on sale, the lowest price, rankings, ratings, shipping options and what’s in stock. Consumers can also use automated coupons at check-out to save even more money. Klarna is also expanding its sustainability efforts with an upgraded CO2 tracker and a new donations feature. The tracker displays emissions from over 50 million products, bringing more awareness to carbon footprints. Consumers can use the donations feature to donate products to high-impact organizations.