Buy now-pay later drives US e-com spend towards home goods

29 Apr '20

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Home goods and furniture categories purchased in the United States through the Klarna app, which allows consumers to shop from any online store using a smartphone, witnessed a strong volume growth during the crisis generated due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to fresh data released by global payments and shopping provider Klarna.

Week over week in the week ended April 11, the apparel, footwear and accessories category's share of all purchases made through the Klarna app decreased among Gen Zers and millennials and remained flat among Gen Xers.

Specialty home furnishings stores saw a year-to-date high on April 5, when the Klarna-enabled transaction volume at such stores was 111 per cent higher than the daily average for 2020. In addition, furniture stores registered a year-to-date high on April 10, with transaction volumes up 61 per cent versus the daily average.

"We've seen a trend of US consumers focusing on home improvement projects as they remain under `stay at home' orders during the coronavirus outbreak," said David Sykes, head of US at Klarna.

Home-related goods purchases made through the Klarna app continued their upward trend in the week of April 5-11, according to the company's transaction volume data.

Klarna app users' share of spending on home and garden items-such as furniture, tools and home improvement, pet supplies, kitchenware, plants and flowers, and cleaning products-grew by 26 per cent among Gen Zers, by 5 per cent among millennials and by 2 per cent among Gen Xers week over week in the week ended April 11.

Gen Zers' share of spending on the health and beauty category was flat week over week in the week ended April 11, while millennials' and Gen Xers' share of spending on the category decreased slightly.

Klarna app users increased their share of spending on leisure, sport and hobby items week over week for the third week in a row. Share of spending on this category was up 11 per cent among Gen Zers, up 2 per cent among millennials and up 1 per cent among Gen Xers, indicating shoppers are still looking for fun diversions as they remain at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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