Lay-by app of the future, Afterpay, has paid the App Store a visit with this week’s debut of its new iOS app, zooming right to the top of the Free app chart.
Within 48 hours of Afterpay announcing the launch of its new iPhone and iPad app to its customer base, the new app has risen to the top of the App Store ‘Free’ apps chart.
Afterpay and its app “allows shoppers to buy now, receive now and pay later – customers pay for items over four equal fortnightly instalments and receive goods immediately, without delay or interest,” in a modern take on the no-longer old-school lay-by concept.
The company reminds us that Afterpay was initially introduced for in-store purchases, with the new app featuring “a user-friendly interface making it easier to shop and pay with Afterpay.”
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It’s the first version of the Afterpay app, with updates and advances obviously to come, and it allows customers to “browse the shop directory to pinpoint over 800 store locations and find shopping inspiration, generate barcodes to scan and pay in-store, as well as access to exclusive offers within the app or via push notifications.”
Additionally, taking advantage of iOS features, we’re told that the Afterpay app “has Touch ID support for customers to sign in with their fingerprint and can scan their payment card to quickly and simply add it as a payment method.”
Alluding to supposedly falling retail figures, Afterpay proudly boasts having reported it “now processes approximately 15% of total online fashion retail and 3% of total online retail in Australia.”
Dubbed the “Pay In Four, Afterpay It” phenomenon, we’re told that this is “helping to grow retail, stimulating retail demand and being a source of incremental growth for retailers.”
In particular, Afterpay says it has “resonated highly with millennials, which make up almost three quarters (73%) of its customer base and is slowly becoming part of the millennial vernacular.”
Afterpay Managing Director Nick Molnar noted the business is strongly focused on offering next-generation products and services that deeply appeal to the tech-savvy millennial consumer.
Molnar said: “We are excited to have launched the Afterpay app and ecstatic at its skyrocketing performance on the App Store. Millennials are the largest demographic in Australia and Afterpay’s momentum has been driven by a growing customer base of over 650,000 active users, of which over 70 per cent are millennials. The Afterpay app has been forthcoming to meet this customer demand and support our growth objectives through continued product innovation.
“Today, retailers have to contend with incredible on-demand services specifically targeting millennials and now more than ever, they need to enhance the customer experience. The way people shop in Australia is changing and innovation is allowing customers to choose the way they want to pay. Afterpay gives customers time, rather than finance to pay with their own money for the things they like while also providing an essential budgeting tool,” continued Molnar.
Afterpay then states it is “expanding in-store, developing its unique barcode system and continuing to innovate, by investing in its development to optimise the product and customer experience.”
The company says it “continues to maintain a strong pipeline of Australia’s leading brands – retailers offering the payment platform in-store include Cue, Veronika Maine, Dion Lee, City Beach, Glue, General Pants Co, Topshop Topman, The Athlete’s Foot and more.”
Finally, to celebrate the launch of the Afterpay app and reaching number one on the App Store, Afterpay says it “would like to thank customers by introducing an initiative specific to its app users. Customers can download the app and turn on push notifications – the announcement will be revealed on Wednesday, 24 May 2017.”
The free Afterpay app is now available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store, with an Android version to be released “soon.”
