Klarna launches virtual shopping in Ireland
Klarna has launch of its Virtual Shopping offering in Ireland, bringing the best of in-store to the online experience.
Virtual Shopping by Klarna enables Irish consumers to buy online with confidence by connecting them directly with in-store experts through live chats and video calls to receive product advice and inspiration.
For Irish retailers, Virtual Shopping empowers in-store teams to bring their expertise beyond the walls of physical stores to shoppers online. In-store teams can share photos and videos of items and demo products live directly from the store floor, from home or even from emerging dark store concepts. This in turn drives brand engagement and loyalty while increasing footfall to high street stores and reducing return rates.
Earlier this year, Klarna launched the tool across 18 markets. Already live with over 200 brands globally, Klarna is now making the service available to all its retail partners in Ireland, serving as the ultimate online shopping companion to consumers and strengthening Klarna’s position as a global growth partner to its retailers.
The tool allows consumers to shop online without ever stepping foot in-store, but still receive expert guidance from in-store teams to help consumers in their purchasing decisions. Through live video and messaging, consumers can view photos and videos of items up close and watch live product demos directly from the store floor – demonstrating everything from how a piece of clothing fits off the rack to the colour of a cosmetic product or the size of a piece of furniture.
While online shopping has risen to new heights over the past years, in-store shopping remains the dominant channel in Ireland, with e-commerce transactions accounting only for 6.1% of Irish retail sales in May 2022.
Unlike shopping in-store, the online experience today does not allow consumers to see a product up close, touch or try on items, making it hard to tell if products are true to size, fit or color. Klarna’s found that Irish consumers today are looking for the same level of assistance when shopping online, with over three-quarters (85%) of shoppers believing that retailers need to invest in new technology, while more than a third of those think that offering more personalized services (34%) and product recommendations (41%) is a priority for retailers.
David Sandström, chief marketing officer at Klarna said: “At Klarna, we want to provide the world’s best shopping experience – whether that is online or in-store. In the past, online shopping has been missing a key element: human interaction. With Virtual Shopping, we replicate the brick-and-mortar experience of receiving personalized advice from an in-store expert and bring it to the online realm. This will empower our partnered retailers around the world to bring their online stores to life and build customer relationships that last.”
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