New Data from Klarna Show Airline Sales Made Through the Klarna App Up 26% Week over Week, Boding Well for Travel Recovery

Data Also Reveal Household Appliances Up 45% and Women’s Accessories Up 12% in Terms of Average Daily Sales Volumes

New York, NY (May 18, 2020) – Klarna, a leading global payments and shopping provider, today released new data from its app in the US, indicating that travel services and event ticket sales are beginning to recover. While still significantly lower compared to an average pre-COVID week, the Airlines category saw a 26% week-over-week rise in average daily transactions, while one event ticket seller saw Klarna-enabled transactions increase by a whopping 330% week over week in the week ended May 9. Average daily sales volumes for household appliances, excluding sales made at big-box retailers, also increased significantly week over week, rising by 45%, while women’s accessories sales made through the Klarna app rose 12%.

“Our weekly data point to consumers’ desire to get back to the activities that enrich their lives, such as traveling and attending live events, as soon as possible,” said David Sykes, Head of US at Klarna. “At the same time, consumers still seem to be focusing on their home life, as data from the Klarna app revealed that sales of vacuums, stand mixers and other home appliances rose by 45% week over week. That may indicate that people are purchasing flights and event tickets for the future, but for the time being, are continuing to look for items that make cooking and housekeeping easier and more enjoyable.”

Aside from analyzing average daily volumes to identify increases and decreases in category transactions week to week, Klarna has been analyzing share of wallet—or how its app users are dividing their spending among different shopping categories—to identify what product categories Gen Z, millennial and Gen X audiences are shopping for most often using Klarna’s flexible payment options, and how their e-commerce spending is shifting throughout the pandemic.

Klarna’s most recent demographic data show that from May 3 through May 9, Gen Z and millennial Klarna app users increased their share of spending on apparel, footwear and accessories for the fourth week in a row, while Gen Xers increased their share of spending on the category by nearly 10%. Klarna app–enabled sales at stores that sell women’s accessories grew by 12% week over week in the week ended May 9, suggesting that women are looking to freshen their wardrobes with seasonal accessories as more states and municipalities lift stay-at-home orders.

Klarna, which serves 7 million consumers in the US and 85 million consumers globally, will continue to analyze transaction data weekly to identify how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting e-commerce and consumer shopping behavior.

Other Key Findings

• Week over week in the week ended May 9, the apparel, footwear and accessories category’s share of all purchase transactions made through the Klarna app increased by nearly 2% among Gen Zers, by 4% among millennials and by nearly 10% among Gen Xers.
• Gen Xers continued their eight-week trend of shifting share of wallet toward home and garden items, with share up nearly 6%, suggesting they are continuing to focus on DIY projects, items that make cooking and cleaning easier, and products to make their homes more comfortable and livable. Gen Zers’ share of spending on the category rose by nearly 12% week over week, while millennials’ share fell by nearly 4%.
• Gen Zers and millennials increased their share of spending on leisure, sport and hobby items week over week in the week ended May 9, while Gen Xers’ share of spending on the category fell slightly.
• For the third week in a row, millennials and Gen Xers both increased their share of spending on electronics, with millennials’ share up 7% and Gen Xers’ share up 10%. Gen Zers’ share of spending on the category was down nearly 5% in the week ended May 9.
• All three demographic groups significantly decreased their share of spending on marketplaces (which include sites such as Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and eBay.com), indicating that they are looking to other retail formats to fill their shopping needs. Both Gen Zers’ and Gen Xers’ share of spending on marketplaces decreased by nearly 8%, while millennials’ share fell nearly 5% week over week.

Methodology

Klarna analyzed purchase volumes for items bought through the Klarna app, which allows consumers to shop at any online store, for the week of May 3–9, for each of the seven previous weeks and for an average week based on the five-week period covering February 1–March 7, 2020. The data were distributed as share of total, and did not account for any increases or decreases of volume within any of the age groups analyzed—Gen Zers ages 18 and older (born 1997–2002), millennials (born 1981–1996) and Gen Xers (born 1965–1980). The data indicate only the distribution of purchase volumes among the following categories for each age group:

• Apparel, footwear and accessories: adult and kids clothing and shoes, underwear, jewelry and watches, sunglasses, bags, and wallets
• Leisure, sport and hobby: sports and outdoor gear, concept stores, hobby articles, prints and photos, costumes, and party supplies
• Home and garden: furniture, tools and home improvement, pet supplies, kitchenware, plants and flowers, and cleaning and sanitary products
• Health and beauty: personal care and haircare, cosmetics, dietary supplements, fragrances, and prescription optics
• Marketplace: items purchased from the likes of Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and eBay.com
• Electronics: diversified electronics, electronic equipment and related accessories, household electronics (including white goods and appliances), office machines and related accessories (excluding computers), and car electronics
• Intangible items: travel services and event tickets

About Klarna

We make shopping smooth. With Klarna, consumers can buy now and pay later, so they can get what they need today. Klarna’s offering to consumers and retailers includes payments, social shopping and personal finances. Over 200,000 merchants, 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. For more information, visit klarna.com.

Media contact:

Berns Communications Group
Michael McMullan/Danielle Poggi
212-994-4660
mmcmullan@bcg-pr.com/dpoggi@bcg-pr.com