We saw at the 2019 Loyalty Expo that loyalty programs are increasingly being used to unify a brand’s customer experience and even increase convenience for consumers. After all, loyalty programs present a unique opportunity to make CX consistent across channels. Now, a major fashion retailer is embracing this trend.
H&M and Klarna have announced that they have expanded their current partnership agreement to also include the US market in the development of a payments and shopping experience across touchpoints. Together, H&M and Klarna are aiming at further integrating H&M’s digital and physical stores to give customers a personalized and engaging shopping experience no matter where, when, and how they shop.
The partnership extends across H&M channels (online as well as in-store) and is intended to provide frictionless and flexible payments, including Klarna’s “Shop now, Pay Later” full product offering, as well as a streamlined post-purchase experience for deliveries and returns. This will be managed through the next generation of the H&M app and H&M’s loyalty program, with the overall objective to create an improved end-to-end shopping experience for fashion fans. The new feature is currently available for H&M members only in order to increase the value of the brand’s customer loyalty program.
Daniel Claesson, Head of Business Development at H&M Group, says, “Shopping at H&M should be convenient, relevant, and inspiring, and we are happy to soon offer fashion fans in selected markets a whole new way of paying their fashion finds. Klarna has helped us develop an H&M-unique payment solution that offers our fans a truly modern shopping experience no matter where and how they choose to shop.”
Michael Rouse, Chief Commercial Officer at Klarna, said, “The foundation of the Klarna and H&M partnership is a commitment to continuously develop smarter, simpler, and engaging shopping experiences. The future of retail is a high touch experience across channels which will delight customers, drive value, and build loyalty. Customers will not settle for average and neither will we. We at Klarna are excited by how this partnership with H&M continues to develop and to now together launch in the largest and most exciting retail market in the world.”
The program is expected to go live in the United States in the third quarter of 2019, and the first country to go live in accordance with previously announced partnership is Switzerland in August, followed by the United Kingdom shortly after. Another five markets will also go live throughout 2019.