Klarna launches Klarna Plus in the US

According to Klarna’s officials, the introduction of Klarna Plus, its premium subscription service, supports the company’s development strategy and comes as a response to research indicating that users require an enhanced shopping experience through a subscription model. With Klarna Plus, the company intends to address this demand, while allowing it to improve its engagement with its US-based consumers. Moreover, the launch assists Klarna in further diversifying its portfolio of payment and shopping solutions.

Considering that the worldwide subscription ecommerce market is expected to reach a valuation of USD 2419.69 billion by 2028, Klarna introduced the new service to expand its capabilities and deliver enhanced customer experiences. Klarna Plus offers a suite of benefits for a nominal fee, with the service being available in the Klarna app, including double reward points on purchases with the Klarna rewards club, no service fees for acquisitions at retailers outside the company’s network leveraging the One Time Card, and access to discounts at brands such as Nike, COACH, Macy’s, Instacart, and GOAT.

Furthermore, the launch of Klarna Plus follows a period of expansion for the company in the US market, with Klarna continuing to grow beyond Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) into a shopping and payments ecosystem. Company data shows that its US customer base expanded during 2023 by 32%, with it reaching 37 million consumers. The expansion can be attributed to Klarna’s developing suite of US payments and shopping services, which currently includes flexible payment options that enable consumers to pay now, pay later, or pay over time and a suite of shopping solutions. Klarna is committed to improving the way individuals shop and pay online and in-store and aims to further develop its services. Currently, more than 500,000 global retailers integrate Klarna’s technology and marketing solutions, including H&M, Saks, Sephora, Ikea, Expedia Group, and Airbnb, among others.

To advance its development strategy and expand its capabilities, Klarna recently entered several partnerships, including one with CarTrawler in December 2023. Through this collaboration, the two companies intended to enable travellers to pay for their card rental with Klarna’s payment options, including interest-free BNPL, when they book on 70 airlines and 250 travel websites. By joining forces with CarTrawler, Klarna received the ability to go live on 25 airline websites across 15 countries, including Vueling, TAP AIR Portugal, and Eurowings.

During the same period, Klarna partnered with DocMorris to improve ecommerce in the healthcare and medical industry in Germany. The collaboration was set to provide consumers with a simplified, fair, and secure payment experience while further enhancing convenience and access to healthcare products.