Klarna moving from BNPL to shopping app

The real pivot is that Klarna is trying to turn a low margin lending button into a consumer traffic and data asset. If Klarna only appears at checkout, merchants can swap it out for another BNPL provider. If shoppers start in the Klarna app to browse deals, save items, get price alerts, track deliveries, and then pay, Klarna becomes a source of demand for merchants and learns what people want before they click buy.

• This changes how money flows. In the classic BNPL model, Klarna earns a 3% to 6% merchant fee and takes the credit risk. In the app model, Klarna can also monetize shopper traffic, merchant marketing placement, debit led payments, and repeat purchasing behavior, which reduces reliance on lending economics alone.
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• The product shift is concrete. By 2021 the app already included wish lists, price drop notifications, discounts, delivery tracking, loyalty features, and shopping at any store with Klarna. Monthly active users grew from 18 million in H1 2021 to more than 31 million by H1 2024, showing the app was becoming a real consumer destination.
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• The closest comparison is Shop app and the broader push by checkout networks to move from checkout to check in. Bolt and Rally both describe the strategic prize as owning shopper identity before payment, because the company that recognizes the shopper earliest can shape merchandising, conversion, and post purchase monetization.
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The next phase is Klarna using the app to pull more transactions onto its own network, where discovery, payment, rewards, and banking products reinforce each other. If that keeps working, Klarna stops looking like a BNPL vendor and starts looking more like a commerce network that can steer consumer demand as well as finance it.