Klarna has seen its number of US retail partners grow by 163 per cent year over year as of May 2020. More than 4,200 US retailers have now been added to the company's global base of more than 200,000 retailers. Klarna's app has also seen significant traction and now has more than 1 million monthly active users in the US. Klarna's app has been downloaded more than 4.4 million times, and this year alone has outpaced all of its closest competitors with more than 1.7 million downloads. The app is also ranked number one in the industry based on a combination of factors such as monthly active users, downloads and sessions per user, according to a May ranking.

Klarna is continually evolving its offerings and creating consumer-friendly, interactive features such as its wish list function-which allows users to create and share lists with family and friends-and its price drop function-which gives users access to daily exclusive deals and drops. Klarna app users in the US have added nearly 2.5 million items to their wish lists since the feature became available in 2019.

"Given the current situation, retailers are sharply focused on leveraging the key channel they have available-online," said David Sykes, head of US at Klarna. "At the same time, more shoppers than ever before are turning to e-commerce for a wide range of product categories, and they are looking to pay for things in a smarter way that lets them manage their finances without having to use credit options that come with interest, fees and revolving debt. At Klarna, we're working closely with retailers and supporting them in attracting new customers and retaining them as retail starts to rebound."

Klarna is helping bridge the gap between digital and physical retail by providing a convenient, seamless customer experience across channels and touchpoints. The company has successfully launched in-store financing options in the US, allowing consumers to use Klarna's flexible payment alternatives both online and offline. Klarna is working closely with retailers such as H&M, rue21, Good American and Planet Blue on strategies to reopen their physical stores, including focusing on safety aspects such as contactless payments. To date, Klarna is live in more than 11,000 brick-and-mortar stores across the globe.

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, Klarna has closely tracked US consumer behavior and has shared updates on key shopping trends that its proprietary data has surfaced. The company's data revealed, for example, that consumers used the Klarna app to stock up on groceries and pet food in the early weeks of the outbreak and then turned their focus toward items that would make stay-at-home orders more enjoyable, such as video games, running shoes, musical instruments and products for DIY projects. As US consumers began to receive their federal stimulus checks, Klarna-enabled purchases reached levels similar to the holiday shopping period.

Klarna's offering to consumers and retailers includes payments, social shopping and personal finances. Over 200,000 retailers, including H&M, Ikea, Expedia Group, Samsung, ASOS, Peloton, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike and AliExpress, have enabled Klarna's innovative shopping experience online and in-store. Klarna is the most highly valued fintech in Europe, with a valuation of $5.5 billion, and one of the largest private fintechs globally. Klarna was founded in 2005, has over 3,000 employees and is active in 17 countries. Klarna's North American offices are in Columbus, Ohio; Los Angeles; and New York. Klarna Credit is issued by WebBank, member FDIC.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)