Klarna acquires ‘social shopping’ startup Hero

As if Klarna’s reach couldn’t get any wider, it’s now trying to tap into social shopping.

The buy-now-pay-later fintech has acquired London and New York-based social shopping platform Hero, which helps consumers find inspiration, advice and immediately shoppable content directly from a retailer’s physical store.

Klarna will introduce Hero to its 250,000 retail partners, enabling in-store teams to become content creators instantly, providing reviews and real-time advice to bring the best of in-store shopping to online customers. 

“Immersive shopping experiences are now expected by consumers when shopping online and forward-thinking brands want to provide consumers with a rich, interactive way to shop for their products,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, said.

“We see a huge opportunity to leverage Hero’s existing platform and expertise to allow in-store retail professionals to become global brand ambassadors. This will unlock growth for retailers by creating a new hybrid shopping experience that enables consumers to make informed purchasing decisions as part of an engaging and personalised shopping journey.”

Hero counts the likes of Levi, Rag & Bone, Chloé, Harvey Nichols and a number of existing Klarna clients, such as Nike and JD Sports.

“Klarna is a company we’ve long admired. They have built an iconic brand and proposition, and a unique culture that makes it the perfect home for our team,” Adam Levene, founder of Hero added.

“By joining forces we are able to bring our technology to even more merchants and consumers across the world, making online shopping more social, interactive and ultimately more human.”

As part of the acquisition, all of Hero’s 100+ employees will join Klarna and all of Hero’s products and services will be immediately available to Klarna’s retail partners.

Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.