Today in the Connected Economy: Afterpay Launches New Retail Partnerships

Today in the connected economy, buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay announces new partnerships with Nordstrom, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, while Go Instore breaks down shopper intent, which varies between physical stores and eCommerce. Plus, Petco and Lowe’s get set to launch a series of stores-within-stores.

BNPL Firm Afterpay Partners With 3 Top Retailers

BNPL firm Afterpay has launched partnerships with three retailers — Nordstrom, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger — with Nordstom already offering the company’s service online and in-store. “We are constantly evolving to enhance the customer experience both in-store and online at Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack,” Dennis Bauer, president of Payments and Credit at Nordstrom, said in a news release.

Live Video Shopping Turns Purchase Intent Into Online Conversions

People go to stores intending to buy, but when it comes to eCommerce sites, they may just be there to browse. This fact of retail life is being reshaped, however, by COVID as eCommerce becomes the go-to buying method, forcing brick-and-mortar retails to adapt. Go Instore Co-CEO and Co-founder André Hordagoda told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, “When you go into a store, your propensity to buy something sits at 20% to 30%, whereas you look at the same retailer or brand’s website, you’re looking at 1% to 2%, which is a massive differential.”

Lowe’s, Petco to Pilot 15 Mini Store-in-Store Locations

Lowe’s and Petco have a joint venture they hope will get customers’ tails wagging. The two retailers are working together to put store-in-store pet supply outlets inside 15 of Lowe’s home improvement warehouse locations in three states. The first store-within-a-store is due to open in Texas next month, followed by additional Lowe’s locations in North Carolina and South Carolina by the end of March.

Neobank XTM Launches Visa Debit Card

Neobank XTM has formed a partnership with Visa that will see the payments giant create a debit card for XTM’s Today program. XTM — headquartered in Toronto and Miami — helps businesses and service workers in the hospitality and personal care sectors access their earned wages and gratuities.

Mastercard: Instant Payments Unlock Weeks of Working Capital for Small Business Suppliers

Buyers and suppliers have been trying for decades to accelerate B2B payments, forcing them to wrestle with the basics of getting payments done faster, and the resilience of paper checks. It’s only been in recent years that we’ve seen the tentative embrace of BNPL, virtual cards and dynamic discounting in the space.

AirPlus, Coupa Collaborate to Offer Improved Procurement

Corporate payment specialist AirPlus International is working with business spend management platform Coupa to give clients new procurement tools. The companies said Thursday AirPlus Virtual Cards Procurement will become a payment option within Coupa Pay, the firm’s B2B payments solution. Customers of the two companies can streamline and centralize spending on travel, resources for their businesses and utilities.