• Sales of women’s football shirts are up 17% in the past year, compared with 8% for mens’ football shirts on Klarna. 
• Sportswear brands have failed to capitalise: 8 out 10 fans would buy more women’s sports merchandise if more options were available, according to new research by Klarna and Sports Innovation Lab.
• Klarna partners with global football media brand COPA90 and designer Sophie Hird to launch exclusive women’s football merchandise on FOUDYS, the first dedicated women's football retail site, with all proceeds supporting The Laces Community Clubs, and introduces a new shopping hub dedicated to women’s football merchandise. 

LONDON – June 26, 2024 -- Klarna, the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant, today revealed new research in partnership with fan intelligence company Sports Innovation Lab. Sales of women’s football shirts through the Klarna platform are up 17% year over year, growing twice as fast as men’s shirt sales which are up just 8% from a year earlier. Despite this growth and record-breaking levels of fan engagement in women’s sports in the UK, the supply of merchandise fails to meet demand. 8 out of 10 fans say they would buy more if there were more options available. 

The report titled Rep Her: Revealing the Unmet Demand for Women’s Sports Merchandise raises awareness around gender-based gaps in women’s sports merchandise availability. Key findings show that fans are: 

• Hungry for Options: 78% of surveyed respondents reported they would purchase more women’s sports merchandise if more options were available to them. T-shirts, sweatshirts and team kits were the top items fans say they want more of. 
• Demanding Inventory: 39% of women’s sports fans want more availability of popular items, 46% want a wider range of options and 25% want more athlete-specific designs. 
• Seeking Out Retailers: 28% of fans want more clarity on where to find women’s sports merchandise and one-third purchase at unofficial retailers due to more availability. 
• Searching For More Styles: Women's sports merch buyers are nearly twice as likely as men's merch buyers to have trouble finding a style they like. 
• The Merch Gender Gap: 79% report a noticeable gap between men's and women's sports merchandise citing disparities in variety (52%), availability (47%) and quality (36%).
• Vast Supporters: 69% have attended or watched a women's sports event on TV or digital platforms in the past 12 months*. Most women’s sports fans identify as fans of multiple sports and leagues - top leagues include the FA Women’s Super League (59%), UEFA Women’s Champions League (63%), Women’s Tennis Association (30%) Women’s National Basketball (26%) and Women’s Cricket Superleague (22%).
• Double Growth: UK sales of women’s football shirts through the Klarna platform are up 17% on a year earlier, growing twice as fast as men’s shirt sales which are up just 8% from a year earlier. 

“Consumer appetite for league, team, and athlete merchandise is vastly exceeding supply,” said Angela Ruggiero, Co-Founder of Sports Innovation Lab. “There is a golden opportunity for retailers to capitalise on a surging market that is telling us if you create something authentic to the community, they will buy it.” 

To raise awareness, Klarna has worked together with global football media brand COPA90 to launch new merchandise including a football shirt and t-shirt. Designed by Sophie Hird, who was previously enlisted by Mitre to design a cap that commemorated the forgotten Women’s World Cup team of 1971, the merchandise features the phrase “Rep Her” and symbolises the growing influence of women’s sports and celebrates fans’ passion. 

The merchandise is available to shop on Klarna and to purchase at FOUDYS—the world’s first retail site dedicated solely to women's football. Founded by Helen Hardy, a trailblazer in women's football merchandising, FOUDYS is at the forefront of this market. All proceeds from the sales will benefit The Laces Community Clubs, supporting the growth and visibility of women's sports. 

Additionally, Klarna has launched an official merchandise hub simplifying the shopping process for fans seeking women's official football merchandise. 

“There is a wide-open goal for any sportswear brand who caters to the women's sports boom, but surprisingly, not enough are stepping up just yet.. So we launched this research to raise awareness of the Merch Gap and goad the big brands into serving female sports fans.” says Megan Gokey, Klarna’s Head of B2C Marketing & Brand Partnerships. “We are energised by the recent attention surrounding women’s sports and are thrilled to kick off this initiative, ultimately helping to make merchandise more accessible to millions of fans and create a space for women’s sports fans to shop smarter and ‘fan’ harder.”

"I launched FOUDYS to tackle the shortage of merchandise for fans of women's football, and the response has been astonishing," says Helen Hardy, Founder and CEO of FOUDYS. "While our goal was to double our growth annually, we've actually tripled it which clearly shows the immense demand for women's football merchandise. I’m thrilled to be part of this initiative with Klarna, recognising the value of women’s sports and helping to ensure that fans are no longer underserved.”

This follows several other initiatives launched by Klarna to elevate women’s sports in the U.K. and globally. In 2021, Klarna became a founding partner of the Los Angeles-based National Women’s Soccer League team Angel City FC. The following year, Klarna delivered an eye-catching advertising campaign with Visa during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, spotlighting Lionesses Fran Kirby and Lucy Bronze. In 2023, Klarna sponsored the inaugural Women’s Football Awards, recognising Alessia Russo with the Player of the Year award, which it sponsored. Additionally, Klarna launched an in-app game called ‘Scream for Your Team’ during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, rewarding sports fans for their fandom, and became the first official sponsor of the Polish women’s football team, Legia Ladies. 

View the full Rep Her report here. Additionally, Sports Innovation Lab is hosting a live webinar on July 11 at 17:00 BST to provide a report read-through and data deep dive, which can be accessed by registering HERE.
 

Notes to editors 

*This report is the fourth annual instalment in Sports Innovation Lab’s internationally acclaimed The Fan Project series, which has become the global sports industry’s north star guidance on the commercialisation of women’s sports since launching in 2021.

**Insights from Klarna's consumer survey conducted in collaboration with research company Dynata in 10 countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA). The surveys were conducted in April 2024 and included at least 1,000 respondents in each country. A total of 11,231 consumers participated. The sample is nationally representative and has been chosen by the research company Dynata.