Klarna Goes In On Social Commerce With Acquisition Of Influencer Marketing Platform APPRL

Swedish buy now, pay later ( BNPL) solution provider, Klarna, has acquired Stockholm-based SaaS platform, APPRL, to enable content creators to work seamlessly with retailers and offer an immersive and informative content-driven shoppable experience.

“As retailers continue to embrace influencer marketing as their growth engine, with an increasing focus on ROI, data and automation, APPRL has been seeing an exponential increase in demand. With APPRL’s platform together with Klarna’s scale, incredible talent and portfolio of marketing services, we will be able to offer retailers an end-to-end influencer and performance marketing solution that they won’t be able to find anywhere else,” said Martin Landén, CEO of APPRL.

The acquisition follows the rising consumer adoption of social commerce. By 2024, social commerce is expected to account for $84 billion worth of U.S. retail sales, with millennials and Gen Z leading the charge. According to Klarna, 48 percent of U.S. millennial and Gen Z internet users have made purchased products through social channels.

The deal positions Klarna to not only cut itself a share of the growing social commerce market but also serves as an intermediary for both content creators and retailers, enabling them to create social shopping content and track campaign results through the Klarna platform.

“As social shopping becomes a core element of the retail experience, we believe Klarna’s position at the center of the shopping ecosystem is instrumental in connecting retailers to both consumers and content creators who resonate with their brand audiences,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna.

“By adding APPRL to Klarna’s existing retailer support expertise, we see a huge opportunity to create an enriching and informative shopping experience for consumers everywhere while accelerating retailer growth.”

APPRL joins Klarna’s growing portfolio of companies, including a Comparison Shopping Service, an AI-driven styling engine and content creation platform, and most recently, HERO, a conversational commerce platform.

To date, Klarna partners with over 250,000+ global retail partners like H&M, Saks, Sephora, Macy’s, Nike and Shein and services over 90 million global active users, handling over 2 million transactions per day.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on July 27, 2021.