Letters: Buy now, edge us out later
[Re: Klarna amps up super-app aims with price comparison tool, Nov 14]
Klarna’s new price comparison tool, while a positive thing for consumers, is a significant step towards cutting merchants out of a crucial part of the shopping experience. This only makes it clearer that BNPLs have no intention of staying in the checkout and are making inroads further and further into the purchase journey.
Buy now, pay later’s endgame is to edge merchants out of shopping itself, ultimately relegating them to order fulfilment. But brands rely on the ability to create a real and meaningful connection with their customers from the beginning to the end of the purchase journey.
What will accompany this is the loss of brand loyalty and customer relationships for brands that don’t take action now. It’s time for merchants to recognise the strategic threat “one-stop-shops” represent and commit to saying bye now to this version of pay laters entirely.
Martin Magnone