Hollister’s teen customers can now charge it to those in charge of them.
The Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F Co.) owned monobrand teen retailer has launched Share2Pay on its mobile app, a way for youth to share the contents of their digital shopping bag with the person–often a parent, grandparent or other relative–who will lay out the cash for the merchandise.
The new payment option was developed in-house by Hollister’s Digital and Product Experience team after A&F Co. research revealed that most teens don’t have the financial means to pay for their own purchases and that their online shopping bags serve more as wish lists until they are in the same physical space as their benefactor.
“The Hollister customer in total is being pressured by inflation and having less discretionary income to spend, and they have to make decisions on where they’re spending it,” A&F Co. CEO Fran Horowitz said in a second-quarter earnings call in August.
“Hollister has been at the forefront of creating seamless shopping for our teen customers and we’re excited to officially add a new payment functionality to our suite of tools. By listening to our customers and understanding the dynamic between the purchaser and wearer, we discovered a way to reduce friction,” said Samir Desai, A&F Co.’s chief digital and technology officer. “Introducing new patent-pending technology like Share2Pay allows us to make shopping for teens and parents easier. I’m incredibly proud of the fully in-house team that ideated and developed this new payment solution, which we believe will optimize our teens’ experience, while converting more mobile purchases. In line with our test and learn culture, we’ll continue to listen to feedback and iterate on this innovative technology.”
Share2Pay is available on the Hollister mobile app in the U.S. and U.K. During a soft launch of the technology earlier this year, Hollister discovered that customers who used it placed orders more than twice as often as those who did not.
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It was designed to be simple to use. Customers fill their virtual shopping bag, select the Share2Pay option and a link to the bag is sent to the payer via text. That person can then review and edit the selection before paying.
The launch of Share2Pay reflects A&F Co.’s overall goal to be more technology-driven. “We’re moving away from how a traditional retailer operates and more towards how a tech company operates,” Desai told investors in June.