The Children’s Place is making the Kardashians the face of its 2021 matching family pajama collection. And as part of the partnership, the retailer is promoting Afterpay so that consumers springing for the collection can pay in four equal installments over six weeks.
In what the specialty apparel retailer is dubbing “The Best Kris-Mas Ever,” Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, Kardashian’s daughter True Thompson and Jenner’s mother MJ Shannon lead the campaign, showing off a collection that offers more than 30 family styles ranging in size from newborn to XXL adult, as well as options for pets and dolls.
“I love the holidays and there is nothing better than gathering my family together and celebrating with traditions, old and new,” Jenner said in a statement. “Finding the perfect set of matching family pajamas for Khloé, True and my mom was extra special, and I love that The Children’s Place has so many styles to choose from for everyone in the family. Anyone can plan ahead with Afterpay which makes it so easy—the hardest part is picking out a favorite set of matching pjs!”
Known for their 20-year run on the hit television series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” each chose their favorite style for the campaign. Jenner opted for the “Winter Bear” collection, Kardashian and Thompson favored the “Thermal Buffalo Plaid” collection, and Shannon looked ready for the holidays in the “We Are Family” collection.
Other celebrities are included in the holiday campaign, with Eva Longoria-Bastón, Tia Mowry-Hardrict and TikTok star Addison Rae all participating.
The Children’s Place Holiday Family Pajama Collection ranges in price from $19.95 to $49.95 and is available exclusively online and in stores nationwide and in Canada.
Afterpay saved merchants up to $590 million in 2021
The partnership comes after a recent report from Afterpay says its buy, now pay later payments (BNPL) platform will save consumers as much as $459 million in credit card fees in 2021, an equivalent of $6 per order.
But while the payments alternative is en vogue with younger shoppers due to the potential savings, these consumers might not even be the biggest beneficiary.
SMBs are estimated to have gained $1.2 billion in net benefits in 2021 driven by sales through the platform, according to a report developed by Accenture and commissioned by the installment payments platform, titled “U.S. Economic Impact of Buy Now, Pay Later.”
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Increased sales make up the majority of gross benefits for SMBs, with Afterpay generating $2.3 billion in new revenue for these merchants. Larger basket sizes are estimated to drive $750 million, while greater customer exposure generates another $385 million, making up approximately 50 percent of all new revenue flowing to SMBs. The other half is primarily the result of improved brand relevance and checkout conversion (which Afterpay estimates is approximately $700 million together).
For the smaller sellers, more than 82 percent of sales through the platform is new revenue accrued, a higher rate of incremental sales compared to their larger counterparts. Across all sizes, 76 percent of total sales are attributed to new revenue, which amounts to $8.2 billion. U.S. merchants that have implemented Afterpay have generated approximately $10.8 billion in total sales in 2021 through the payments platform.
In collecting transaction data and surveying its own merchants, the Square subsidiary said that $2.6 billion of these sales would otherwise have occurred elsewhere. But the new revenue came from larger customer basket sizes, newer exposure to brand new customers, a rise in repeat purchases and improved checkout conversion, among other factors.
Afterpay merchants, which include top fashion names such as Urban Outfitters, DSW, Lululemon, Everlane, Ulta Beauty and now Fashion Nova, report that basket sizes were approximately 17 percent higher in value for orders linked to the service, while sales increased 12 percent. One in four retailers said they saw sales uplift greater than 10 percent. Overall, the sellers added 13 percent more new consumers, illustrating the customer acquisition benefits of implementing a new platform.
Retailers aren’t just getting major revenue and customer wins in using the platform—they’re saving big. Total estimated cost savings for Afterpay sellers are amounting to $590 million in 2021, with lower customer service costs leading the way. As much as $291 million is being saved in those expenses, while another $184 million is saved on customer acquisition costs. A combined $115 million is saved on lower return rates, lower fraud rates and lower marketing costs, according to the report.
The data revealed that average credit card costs are equivalent to 4.4 percent of the purchase price, with interest rates alone accounted for 3 percent and account fees tallying 1 percent. However, Afterpay’s average fees (late fees) only account for 0.1 percent of total purchase value, lower than the 0.3 percent from credit cards.
While the risks of BNPL as a whole compared to credit cards have been up for debate, Afterpay users are more than twice as likely to make repayments on time compared to credit card users, the payments provider said. While 2.5 percent of Afterpay users have overdue payments of 90 days or more, 5.3 percent of credit cardholders are late, according to Federal Reserve data cited by the report.
Overall, the number of BNPL users in the U.S. has grown by more than 300 percent per year since 2018, reaching 45 million active users in 2021, Bank of America says. These shoppers are spending a collective $20.8 billion, the report says—this is equivalent to 2.4 percent of U.S. e-commerce and 12 percent of U.S. online fashion retail.
This growth has brought success to major players in the field, including Affirm, which made waves with its recent Amazon partnership, as well as Klarna, the $45.6 billion Swedish fintech giant, and Australia’s Zip Co, which expanded its services to the U.S. when it acquired QuadPay last year.
Since the start of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated e-commerce shopping and consumers became more concerned about their personal finances, BNPL spending has skyrocketed compared to traditional payments cards. According to a combination of Accenture analysis and consumer transaction data, BNPL spending as a whole soared 230 percent, while debit cards jumped 43 percent. Credit card spending is up just 8 percent, the report said.
When surveyed, 74 percent of Afterpay users said they used BNPL because they liked the idea of paying in installments, while 55 percent said it helps with budgeting. Another 43 percent said it makes products more affordable.
In total, Afterpay said it is supporting the local economy by supporting more than 70,000 American jobs. The BNPL platform calculated that it directly led to the creation of 6,600 new roles specifically designed to support higher Afterpay order volumes.
The biggest impacts have come indirectly in the supply chain, Afterpay estimates that 39,700 additional jobs were created in the supply chain to assist the higher volumes, while another 23,900 jobs overall were generated by activity occurring on the platform.