With a new wave of retail-focused creator platforms set to hit app stores, we decided to analyze the performance of Klarna Creator. Here’s what we learned about the BNPL giant’s response to the TikTok Creator Marketplace.

The TikTokification of the mobile industry is continuing apace. Following in the footsteps of the TikTok Creator Marketplace, retail brands like Walmart, Shopify, and Klarna have all either announced or launched content creator platforms designed to enable digital influencers to form direct partnerships with brands and partners.

These platforms not only make it easy for creators to monetize products, they also democratize the tools and resources necessary to do so. For example, according to the Klarna website, the company’s Creator Platform “helps merchants find the right influencer partners, collaborate with them, and then track and optimize these relationships with insights into performance metrics.” The company notes that partnerships forged through their Creator Platform have resulted in a 300% increase in sales and a merciful 80% reduction in time spent managing influencers.

With this in mind, we analyzed the performance of the Klarna Creator app to establish an early benchmark by which to compare future offerings like Shopify Collabs and Walmart Creator. Here’s what we found (click the links to jump to the relevant sections):

• Klarna Creator Is Nearing 2,000 Downloads for 2022
• Klarna Creator Is Most Popular in Romania, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador
  

Klarna Creator Is Nearing 2,000 Downloads for 2022

This chart depicts daily global downloads for the iOS version of Klarna Creator between January 1st, 2022 and November 2nd, 2022.

Now, there are a couple things to note before moving on. The first is that there is currently no Android version of Klarna Creator. The second is that the app was, until September 18th, 2022, known as APPRL. Indeed, Klarna acquired APPRL in July 2021, with the explicit goal of using their technology to build a social shopping platform.

In any event, as the chart demonstrates, Klarna Creator has been downloaded 1,802 times since January 2022. The vast majority of these downloads occurred in mid September, after the app rebranded to Klarna Creator.

Currently, Klarna Creator’s daily downloads are all over the place. However, they peaked in the period between September 22nd and September 26th, when the app was downloaded 95 times per day.

Now, admittedly, these numbers aren’t much to write home about, but there are a couple caveats to keep in mind. First, Klarna only attached its name to the app about a month-and-a-half ago. So downloads will surely tick up as the company invests more resources into promoting the program.

Second, since Klarna Creator targets a very specific user base (i.e. brands and creators), it's unlikely that it will ever generate as many downloads as the flagship Klarna app. Indeed, the business model is entirely different and Klarna Creator doesn’t necessarily need a ton of downloads to be a success.

Klarna Creator Is Especially Popular in Romania, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador

A further analysis reveals that the vast majority of Klarna Creator’s downloads come from relatively small markets. Indeed, just nine countries (Romania, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Czech Republic, Armenia, Greece, Lithuania, and Luxembourg) represent over 90% of the app’s 2022 downloads. Leading the way are Romania, with 477; Dominican Republic, with 329; and Ecuador, with 294.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong about establishing a presence in these countries, the top markets for the flagship Klarna app are Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. As such, if Klarna Creator is to become more popular, one would expect those countries to play a significant role.

Final Thoughts

The social shopping space is about to get extremely competitive. While TikTok and Amazon have already made multiple forays into the market (with mixed results), new competitors like Klarna, Walmart, and Shopify are looking to establish footholds of their own.

Admittedly, due to the current immaturity of the market, it’s difficult to glean much from the existing data. Nevertheless, it’s always valuable to set benchmarks. Klarna, with its substantial following and historical success in the e-commerce industry, can be used as a pacesetter for the creator platform trend. As competitor offerings hit the market, we’ll be keeping an eye on how they stack up to the Klarna Creator app.