For the second time, Cosmopolitan Magazine and fintech giant Klarna are bringing the “Hauliday by Cosmo x Klarna” virtual shopping bonanza to U.S. fashion consumers.
The 48-hour event on March 1-2, will feature sales and deals from bold-face names across fashion, apparel, footwear, and beauty, including Macy’s, H&M, Haus Laboratories, Calvin Klein, Rebecca Minkoff, Farfetch, Saks Off 5th, Express, Bluemercury, Foot Locker, Adidas and Gymshark among many others.
The first Hauliday event, which took place on Aug. 8-9, 2020, drove a threefold volume increase on the Klarna app compared to an average weekend the prior year, according to David Sandström, chief marketing officer for Klarna, whose signature product lets shoppers divide their purchase payments into four equal installments. This led to high demand from more brands courting wider audiences and hoping to achieve deeper customer engagement, he said.
Shoppers will be able to access the event through the Klarna and Cosmopolitan’s digital presence.
This time around, Hauliday is arriving with a new twist, with Cosmo and Klarna bringing aboard livestream commerce experience provider ShopShops to host live events at the Macy’s Herald Square flagship in New York City. Consumers using the ShopShops app can access four separate events at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET on March 1 and 2, to purchase products that are showcased in real time at exclusive deals. The events will be hosted by Jackie Miranne, who has served as a style expert on shows like Afterbuzz TV and HSN Style Break.
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“We’re excited to partner with other industry leaders like Cosmopolitan and Klarna to help more U.S.-based shoppers experience the magic of livestream shopping,” said Arlyn Davich, president, ShopShops U.S. “Host sellers are the new mega influencers. We’re thrilled to have the editorial experts at Cosmo utilizing ShopShops to turn their editors’ massive influence into sales, and the payment experts at Klarna to make it even easier to buy on ShopShops.”
Nata Dvir, chief merchandising officer at Macy’s, which invested in Klarna last year, described the Hauliday event as a “perfect fit” for the department store.
“We are always exploring new ways to inspire our customers’ personal style and are excited to bring the thrill of shopping at our iconic Herald Square flagship directly to shoppers from the comforts of home through an immersive livestream experience,” Dvir said.
While Sandström wouldn’t reveal the brands set to be showcased during the ShopShops livestreaming events, they will feature a curated list of discounted products across many of the brands within the Macy’s network, he said. Consumers who download the ShopShops app will receive a $20 credit with the code HAULIDAY to purchase products during the livestreams.
The ShopShops partnership comes as the livestream shopping channel continues its impressive growth, at least overseas. Cosmo and Klarna cited Coresight Research data noting that livestream commerce is expected to bring in $125 billion to China alone.
“Virtual events and livestream shopping are already successful in Asia and making their way to the U.S. more rapidly,” Sandström told Sourcing Journal. “With the combination of curated content, inspirational fashion tips, exclusive sales and discounts, and shopping entertainment, Hauliday will offer a platform for brands to engage with audiences in a more meaningful and creative way and reach even wider audiences.”
ShopShops’ inclusion in the upcoming event stemmed from perhaps the biggest lesson the Cosmo and Klarna teams learned from the first Hauliday: Gen Z and millennial shoppers need a steady diet of unique experiences to remain engaged.
“Gen Zers and millennials are smart shoppers,” Sandström said. “They are increasingly looking to better manage their finances and shop for the things they love responsibly, while scouting the best deals online. Hauliday is designed to meet their needs and offer them a curated shopping experience filled with engaging entertainment, deals, and content across their favorite brands.”
Nancy Berger, senior vice president, publishing director and chief revenue officer, Cosmopolitan, reaffirmed the reasoning behind the new livestream component.
“Our goal with the second Hauliday event, complete with a livestream shopping element, is to deliver an interactive and fun shopping experience for our audience of digitally savvy consumers whose purchasing habits continue to evolve,” Berger said in a statement.
Cosmo and Klarna saw significant potential in working together due to their mutual demographic of Gen Z and millennial consumers. The magazine’s 72 million monthly readers have spent a total of $9.9 billion on online purchases in the last 12 months. When taking Comscore data into account, the companies claim that this represents as much as 21 percent of all online spending by women in the U.S.
The second “Hauliday by Cosmo x Klarna” event comes at a fruitful time for the Klarna platform, which now has 3.5 million monthly active users in the U.S, a 204 percent year-over-year jump. While Klarna is most known for its “buy now, pay later” capabilities, the company’s app enables consumers to shop at its client retailers such as Macy’s, Nike, H&M, Asos, Abercrombie & Fitch and Etsy among many others online and in select stores. Additionally, the app lets shoppers create shareable Wish Lists, get price drop notifications and access exclusive deals.