John Lewis chief executive Nish Kankiwala has revealed that the retailer is looking into developing a buy now pay later (BNPL) scheme in the mould of Klarna.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Kankiwala said: “I think we will develop a buy-now-pay-later product. Especially in the younger generation, people expect it.”
John Lewis has not followed in the footsteps of many other companies which have partnered with Klarna or another BNPL company.
BNPL is a controversial method of paying for things with many critics saying that it encourages people to buy things they cannot afford leading them into debt.
The government has set out its intentions to regulate the practice.
This news follows reports that the John Lewis Partnership had signed a five year deal with Google Cloud worth up to £100m.
Under the agreement, more of the organisation’s technology will migrate to Google Cloud, harnessing the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
John Lewis hopes that partnership will take its retail experience to the next level both in-store, and via its digital platform and owned mobile apps.
