Sweden’s Klarna, which describes itself as “a leading global retail bank, payments and shopping service,” said it has acquired HERO, a social shopping platform with immediately shoppable content produced directly from retailers’ physical stores. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Klarna said it will introduce HERO to its 250,000 retail partners, allowing their in-store teams to become content creators instantly, offering reviews, real-time advice and richer, more engaging and informative content around products to bring the best of in-store shopping to the online experience for consumers.
HERO, based in London and New York, was founded in 2015 and its client roster now includes global brands such as Levi, rag & bone, Chloé, Harvey Nichols and shares a number of retail partners with Klarna’s existing network such as Nike and JD Sports.
Consumers are embracing social commerce, with US retail sales expected to reach $84 billion by 2024, 15% of total estimated US e-commerce volumes.
“We see a huge opportunity to leverage HERO’s existing platform and expertise to allow in-store retail professionals to become global brand ambassadors. This will unlock growth for retailers by creating a new hybrid shopping experience that enables consumers to make informed purchasing decisions as part of an engaging and personalised shopping journey,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna said in a statement.
