In partnership with Sports Innovation Lab, key findings from
a groundbreaking, data-led report identify a $4 billion untapped U.S. women's sports
merchandise market for retailers, with 79% of women's sports fans
indicating they would buy more merchandise if more options were
available to them; To further address the cause, Klarna and
women-owned media and commerce company TOGETHXR have released
limited edition merchandise with proceeds benefiting the Women's
Sports Foundation
NEW
YORK, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Klarna,
the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant,
today announced, Rep Her, a multifaceted,
research-backed initiative to raise awareness around gender-based
gaps in women's sports merchandise availability. In partnership
with fan intelligence company Sports Innovation Lab, Klarna has
released a first-of-its-kind report titled Rep Her: Revealing
the Unmet Demand for Women's Sports Merchandise. The Rep
Her report values the rapidly growing women's sports
merchandise market at an estimated $4
billion annually, proving the sector's drastically unmet
consumer demand, and measures gender-based imbalances between men's
and women's sports fan communities. To further address consumer
appetite, Klarna has teamed up with female Olympian-founded,
trailblazing media and commerce company TOGETHXR and 2x World
Cup Champion, NWSL Champion, ESPN Analyst and TOGETHXR consultant
Ali Krieger to launch limited
edition merchandise and has also launched a new innovative shopping
experience within its app and website.
Key findings from Klarna and Sports Innovation Lab's report
include that fans are:
- Hungry for Options: 79% of surveyed respondents reported
they would purchase more women's sports merchandise if there were
more options available to them, while 28% reported they could not
find a style they liked
- Demanding Inventory: More than 60% of fans who searched
for and intended to buy women's sports merchandise did not make a
purchase because it was not in stock
- Seeking Out Retailers: 32% of women's sports fans cannot
find a retailer that carries merchandise related to their favorite
teams and athletes
- Searching for More Styles: Buyers of women's sports
merchandise are 60% more likely to have trouble finding a
style than buyers of men's sports merchandise
- Expressing Fandom Through Merch: 67% of women's sports
fans have purchased sports merchandise despite only 49% having ever
purchased a ticket to a live sporting event
- Limited Compared to Men's Sports: For every nine pieces
of men's sports merchandise available, women's sports has one (The
30-team NBA has 9x more merchandise options than the 12-team WNBA,
and the 29-team MLS has 6x more merchandise options than the
14-team NWSL)
- Vast Supporters: Most women's sports fans identify as
fans of multiple sports and leagues - top leagues include the WNBA
(60%), NWSL (51%), NCAA Women's Basketball (49%), NCAA Women's
Volleyball (39%) and the USWNT (37%)
"Consumer appetite for league, team, and athlete merchandise is
vastly exceeding supply," said Angela
Ruggiero, Co-Founder of Sports Innovation Lab. "There is a
golden opportunity for retailers to capitalize on a surging market
that is telling us if you create something authentic to the
community, they will buy it."
Klarna, TOGETHXR and Krieger have tapped designers Sophia Chang and Mellany
Sanchez to create t-shirts and tote bags featuring the
phrase "A movement, not a moment," celebrating their passion for
women's sports and allowing fans to Rep Her with pride. This
merchandise not only symbolizes the growing influence of women's
sports, but also empowers fans to showcase their dedication.
Available for purchase on both Klarna.com and TOGETHXR.com, a
percentage of all proceeds from the collection will go to
Billie Jean King's Women's Sports
Foundation, emphasizing that the interest in women's sports is a
formidable force that's here to stay.
Additionally, to help women's sports fans find merchandise to
represent their favorite teams with ease, Klarna has curated an
innovative women's sports destination on Klarna.com and in its
app, offering a seamless way to discover, shop and purchase women's
sports merchandise utilizing its interest-free pay in 4 payment
option.
"As a brand that breaks the status quo and is a big supporter of
women's sports through our three-year partnership with Angel City
Football Club, we saw there was a lack of merchandise available for
women's sports fans yet demand for it so we want to do our part to
find a solve and contribute to fueling women's sports fandom to
continue to help propel the industry forward," said Klarna's Head
of B2C Marketing in North America
and the United Kingdom,
Megan Gokey. "We are energized by
the growing attention surrounding women's sports and are proud to
launch this initiative with Sports Innovation Lab and TOGETHXR to
raise awareness around the merchandise gap, ultimately helping to
make merchandise more accessible to millions of fans and create a
space for women's sports fans to shop smarter and 'fan'
harder."
"As a female athlete myself, it's incredibly important to see
efforts like these that highlight and address gender disparities in
sports, like the gap in women's sports merchandise. This initiative
is a pivotal step in recognizing the value of women's sports and
ensuring that fans have the merchandise they want," shared TOGETHXR
consultant Ali Krieger. "Klarna has
pushed the boundaries when it comes to creating a smart way to shop
and pay, and this initiative directly speaks to the brand's
impactful efforts to push the women's sports movement forward."
This report is the fourth annual installment in Sports
Innovation Lab's internationally acclaimed The Fan
Project series, which has become the global sports industry's
north star guidance on the commercialization of women's sports
since launching in 2021.
To view the full Rep Her report, please visit HERE.
Additionally, Sports Innovation Lab is hosting a live webinar on
July 11 to provide a report
read-through and data deep dive, which can be accessed by
registering HERE.
About Klarna
Since 2005 Klarna has been on a mission to accelerate
commerce with consumer needs at the heart of it. With over 150
million global active users and 2 million transactions per day,
Klarna's fair, sustainable and AI-powered payment and shopping
solutions are revolutionizing the way people shop and pay online
and in-store, empowering consumers to shop smarter with greater
confidence and convenience. More than 500,000 global retailers
integrate Klarna's innovative technology and marketing solutions to
drive growth and loyalty, including H&M, Saks, Sephora, Macy's,
Ikea, Expedia Group, Nike and Airbnb. For more information, visit
Klarna.com.
About TOGETHXR
TOGETHXR is a media and commerce company founded by Jessica Robertson alongside four of the world's
top professional athletes, Alex
Morgan, Chloe Kim,
Simone Manuel, and Sue Bird. With a focus on rich storytelling
rooted in lifestyle and youth culture, TOGETHXR is an unapologetic
platform where representation and gender equality are both expected
and required. TOGETHXR highlights a diverse and inclusive community
of game-changers, culture shapers, thought-leaders, and barrier
breakers – finding and telling the stories of women who are doing
the same. As one of the most compelling platforms for women in
sport and culture, TOGETHXR's in-house production studio has
created a slate of scripted and unscripted premium content,
including Surf Girls: Kaikaina, More Than A Name, FENOM, Summer of
Gold, and more, which are in discussions to be adapted for film,
TV, and digital media. In 2023, TOGETHXR was named one of Fast
Company's Most Innovative Companies and won Media Company of the
Year in the DigiDay Media Awards.
About Sports Innovation Lab
Sports Innovation Lab is a data company that enables brands and
sports properties to build more effective sponsorships, improve
targeted advertising, and enhance fan experiences. Known for its
pioneering research on fan behavior and the commercialization of
the women's sports market, Sports Innovation Lab's flagship Sports
Data Cloud offering built on proprietary observational,
transactional, and deterministic fan data is evolving how
organizations use data to understand their customers and acquire
more of them - starting with sports & entertainment. Learn how
global brands including the NFL, Nike, NHL, Ally Financial,
WNBA, and NASCAR use Sports Innovation Lab's data, audiences, and
strategic advisory to drive revenue by visiting
sportsilab.com or following on LinkedIn, Instagram, and
Twitter.
Media contacts:
Klarna - Kimberly Gibbs
kimberly.gibbs@klarna.com
(614) 967-5032
Sports Innovation Lab - Anthony
Baldini
anthony@athletestrategies.com
(408) 506-5975
TOGETHXR - Togethxr@laruepr.com
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SOURCE Klarna Bank AB (publ)