Klarna Launches Research Lab to Explore the Future of Shopping

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Klarna, the leading global shopping service, announces the launch of a new initiative called Klarna Future Shopping Lab. This is a research project that explores how different aspects of shopping and retail experiences might look like in the future. In our first project, we are exploring the future of the mailbox – transforming it from a static relic to a modular platform for future e-commerce, deliveries, returns, and shoppable neighborhoods.

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Klarna Future Shopping Lab is an ongoing research project that explores optimistic and somewhat unexpected future shopping experiences. The purpose is to develop future prototypes that can inspire everyone involved in the shopping experience – from retail and city planning to technology and logistics – in accelerating the evolution of shopping.

“While the prototypes developed by Klarna Future Shopping Lab are not part of our commercial product development at Klarna, their purpose is to inspire and create discussions around how the future of retail might look like. Guided by our philosophy of removing unnecessary friction, we believe that a lot of improvements can be made in different areas of the shopping journey that are beneficial to both consumers and retailers, and to society as a whole,” says Rasmus Fahlander, Director of Purchase Experience at Klarna.

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The mailbox is dead. Long live the modular mailbox. 

The mailbox. Almost everyone has one – but in a world of digital communication, no one really uses it. In paradox, online shopping is growing exponentially, creating an ever increasing number of parcels on their way to our homes. Meanwhile, people look for more personalized experiences, and new ways to live more sustainably. What if the mailbox could be reimagined and work as an enabler for all those things?

That is the idea behind The Modular Mailbox, the first prototype created by Klarna Future Shopping Lab. It is constituted by a combination of different modules focused on shopping, sharing and sustainability. Together, these transform the mailbox from a static relic, serving solely as a tool for receiving things, into a platform that is designed to cater for our future shopping habits. It supports circularity, new transactions and makes life easier, for individuals as well as neighborhoods and communities.

“It would be strange if one and the same airline did not provide both the ticket and the return ticket. If someone constructs the pathway into our homes, they will automatically also have created the pathways for recycling, returns or the after-life of products and packaging,” says Rasmus Fahlander, Director of Purchase Experience at Klarna.

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