Marks & Spencer recently became the latest high street retailer to offer Klarna as a checkout option meaning customers will now be able to split the cost of purchases into three interest-free instalments instead of paying upfront.
The move highlights Klarna’s steady growth in customer consideration. YouGov BrandIndex data shows its scores for this measure rising from 5.8 to 8.6 (+2.6) since the beginning of 2022 – slightly outperforming credit cards/payment services overall (+2.0, from 3.9 to 5.9).
But who are Klarna’s customers, and what do they think of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services?
YouGov Profiles data shows that one in ten adult Britons (10%) has a Klarna account. Compared to the population as a whole, more Klarna customers are in the higher (27% vs. 24%) and middle (37% vs. 33%) income brackets, while being about as likely to be on lower incomes (18% vs. 19%).
Klarna customers are also more likely to report finding it difficult on their present earnings (39% vs. 26%) but to believe that some personal debt is normal (74% vs. 49%).
A sizable minority have worries about Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products. When asked, two in five (41%) who use Klarna report concerns about overspending, and nearly as many say they worry about accumulating too much debt (37%).
Evidently, though, they see real advantages of BNPL products. Nearing six in ten (58%) appreciate being able to spread payments over time, half (50%) like interest-free payment options and two in five (41%) appreciate the budgeting flexibility offered by these services.
The brand’s increasing presence on the high street may speak to the popularity of BNPL as a payment method which, beyond Klarna, 30% of Britons say they have used least once in the past year. But Klarna’s customers may also speak to the financial realities of an age of belt-tightening: they are higher-earners, but twice as likely as the wider public to feel that retail credit allows them to buy things they would not be able to afford upfront (51% vs. 23%).
Image: Getty
This article originally appeared in City AM
