Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has become the latest retailer to offer buy now, pay later across its general merchandise and clothing brands through a new partnership with Klarna, Retail Week can reveal.
For the first time, customers shopping online across three brands in the Sainsbury’s portfolio will be able to opt for interest-free, buy now, pay later options.
The partnership will include Argos, Habitat and Tu clothing at Sainsbury’s.
Customers can now choose between paying for products at the online checkout immediately in full, within 30 days or splitting the cost of purchases over three interest-free instalments.
Sainsbury’s acquired Argos and Habitat in 2016 as part of Home Retail Group in a £1.4bn deal.
While Sainsbury’s has recently remained laser-focused on its food-first strategy, general merchandise sales edged up by 1.2% in its latest trading update.
Chief executive Simon Roberts said at the time that Argos remains a “much-loved brand” and is three times more profitable than it was three years ago.
He also said he was confident in its clothing trajectory for the year ahead, despite a 6.4% dip in sales.
Klarna chief commercial officer David Sykes said: “More than 20 million Brits already use Klarna and now they can enjoy our flexible payment options at more of their favourite stores.
“Argos, Habitat, and Tu are British icons known for reliability and value, making Klarna’s interest-free payment solutions a seamless fit.
“We’re super-excited for this first step in our partnership with Sainsbury’s.”
The global payments provider said it now has a total of 35,000 merchants offering its service at the checkout in the UK and 20 million customers, up from a total of 18 million last year.
The news comes after Klarna announced revenue and profits were up in the first quarter as it continues to onboard more major retailers to its platform.
No comments yet