Level 3: Unveiling the “Shopping Super App”

In the present day, Klarna has earned itself the iconic title of a “Super App” as a result of its consistent efforts in tapping innovation across the shopping value chain.

The radical shift from a transactional outlook to bringing the elements of inspiration and emotion into the shopping experience has helped Klarna create a coherent purchasing process that encloses the pre, during, as well as the post-purchase journey for each user.

By integrating retail marketplaces and universal shopping carts and platforms through the likes of Nuji, ShopCo, and Stocard, Klarna has eased the pre-purchase activity for consumers globally. These tools aid in providing consumers with inspiration, a sense of direction, and classify an assortment of high-quality products to plan informed shopping decisions.

They have also focused on merchants by empowering them to produce quality content to aid their marketing and customer acquisition initiatives through the acquisition of APPRL, Spring Marketplace, and Stocard.

With payment service providers and risk management resources like Analyzd, Sofort, and MoneyMour, Klarna in-built a secure getaway for all the transactions taking place through its convenient platform. With multiple payment options that fit the bill of each unique consumer as per their daily needs, accompanied by a transparent system that safeguards every payment made, the fintech’s during-purchase process is just one click away from gaining customer satisfaction.

However, what truly sets Klarna apart from other mainstream BNPL players is the consideration of the post-purchase factor in the shopping journey. The holistic umbrella held by acquisitions of firms like Woilà and Close Brothers Retail Finance – whose market analytics of vouchers, price drops, and options for easy returns and exchange provide flexibility and reduce post-purchase dissonance among consumers – make the buying course more engaging and fun.

And That’s a Wrap…

Through the vertical and horizontal exploration of Klarna’s extensive ecosystem, it is evident that the Swedish giant has consistently been gathering blocks to build a one-of-its-kind “shopping super app”. This notion can be perceived through a two-axis principle:

• • The first throws light on the customer purchasing journey – with tools such as personalized shopping carts, planners, and comparison platforms to ease the pre-purchase step, accompanied by software for fraud prevention, direct or installment-based payments for convenience during the purchase journey, and finally wrapping the blanket of easy-returns, price guarantees, and refunds post-purchase.

• • The second explores the two-way relation between the consumer and retailers, where Klarna’s “Shopping Super App” works as a favorable bridge between the two. For every acquisition or investment made by the fintech to simplify selling of products for merchants and retailers – whether it be into logistics through APIs that help track deliveries, in social e-commerce channels that allow in-store retailers to become the next global ambassadors, or even in the travel industry where retail partners help shop and pay for a trip through installments – it directly or indirectly works in favor of the overall shopping experience of consumers as well.

Through its adept selection of creative masterminds across distinct sectors and industries that are solely shopping experience-focused, it is successfully operating on a hybrid model of functionality with feeling. The vision of recreating a shopping mall-like immersive experience from the comfort of an app puts the e-commerce and online shopping segment on a social pedestal like none other. As for what the future holds for this pink and unconventional BNPL (err… Shopping SuperApp) company, David Sandström, CMO at Klarna, has rightly said (and we couldn’t have put it better ourselves)

“I don’t think this will be a winner-takes-all market. Everyone will find their niche around shopping.”