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☆ Klarna to debut $7.99 monthly plan as buy now, pay later firm seeks new revenue sources ahead of IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Swedish fintech firm Klarna is launching a monthly subscription plan in the U.S. to lock in its heaviest users ahead of an expected initial public offering this year, the company told CNBC. Buy now, pay later services such as Klarna and Affirm have surged in popularity in recent years as more Americans rely on a new, fintech-enabled form of credit. When Klarna users shop outside the firm's network of 500,000 retailers — at places such as Walmart, Target, Amazon and Costco — they pay $1 to $2 in transaction fees. "The main proposition of Klarna Plus right now is that you don't pay any service fees," Sandstrom said. "So if you love Klarna and if you love shopping at Target and Walmart, it makes a ton of sense financially."

Persons: David Sandstrom, Sandstrom Organizations: Swedish, CNBC, Nike, Instacart, Walmart, Target, Costco Locations: U.S, Stockholm

Many start-up companies like Klarna are adding AI to their product portfolio to boost valuations as they wait for their turn to hit the public markets through an initial public offering. To prevent any privacy issues, Klarna's AI does not allow images of people's faces or bodies to appear, he said. Google's (GOOGL.O) Lens tool also has search features that allow the mixing of photos and text in searches. The shopping lens is available to consumers in the U.S., UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Klarna said. Klarna, once Europe's most valuable startup, allows shoppers to buy online through its merchant partners and pay in installments using its "buy now, pay later" service.

Persons: David Sandström, Sandström, Klarna, Supantha Mukherjee, Jane Merriman Organizations: Google, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, U.S, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Stockholm

☆ Klarna takes aim at Google and Amazon with AI image recognition tool for shopping
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

It's similar to how Google Lens directs users to suggestions based on items captured by their camera. The tool is trained on data from PriceRunner, a price comparison service Klarna acquired for close to $1 billion. PriceRunner competes with the likes of Amazon , Google's shopping comparison service Google Shopping, and French-founded firm Kelkoo. Klarna users will be able to point their phone at an item of clothing or gadget and find recommendations on similar products directly within the Klarna app. Still, regulators, not least the European Union, have become wary about the rapid advancement of generative AI technology, which generates new material in response to human inputs.

Persons: Rafael Henrique, David Sandstrom, Klarna Sandstrom, Klarna, Sandstrom Organizations: Getty, Google, CNBC, Microsoft, European Union Locations: Swedish, PriceRunner, French, Stockholm, Europe, China, Silicon Valley

☆ Buy now, pay later firm Klarna cuts losses in first half but falls short of profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Swedish buy now, pay later firm Klarna reduced its losses by roughly 67% in the first half of 2023, as the company dramatically cut costs in a bid toward profitability. The company reported overall net operating income of 9.2 billion Swedish krona ($843.5 million), up 21% year-over-year. Failing to record a half-year profit, the firm posted a net loss of 2.1 billion Swedish krona for the period, down 67% from 6.4 billion krona between January to June 2022. Credit losses, a measure of how much the company sets aside for customer defaults, sank by 39% to 1.8 billion krona from 2.9 billion. Buy now, pay later, or BNPL, firms allow shoppers to defer payments to a later date or purchase things over installments on interest-free credit.

Persons: Klarna, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski, —, OpenAI's, David Sandstrom Organizations: CNBC, PayPal Locations: Helsinki, Finland

☆ Fintech firm Klarna overhauls its app with a TikTok-like discovery feed as A.I. hype swirls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

According to David Sandstrom, Klarna's chief marketing officer, the firm took inspiration from Chinese tech platforms, which he said have mastered the art of algorithm driven-shopping. The Klarna app has been redesigned to tailor product recommendations to users based on their shopping habits using artificial intelligence. Klarna and other buy now, pay later products proved popular during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, buy now, pay later has come under scrutiny from regulators because of fears that it is pushing some consumers, particularly younger people, into arrears. In the U.K., the government has proposed new rules aimed at adding some friction to the process of applying for a buy now, pay later loan.

☆ Edgy Campaigns Are Out, TikTok Won’t Stop and Other 2023 Predictions for Marketers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. Most campaigns will focus on discounts to customers or showcase the usefulness of a company’s products, he said. Under this form of marketing, ad firms generally get paid upon completion of a desired end, such as a sale or download. In short, consumers should expect less “vacuous virtue-signaling” from marketers in the coming months, according to Mr. Proulx. But these platforms’ very struggles could result in ad bargains for marketers, said Mr. Solomon of Therabody.

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