• by Melynda Fuller , July 20, 2020

Cosmopolitan is preparing to host its first virtual shopping festival this August in partnership with financial-services platform Klarna.

“Hauliday by Cosmo x Klana,” which takes place over 48 hours, from August 8-9, is created for the Millennial and Gen Z shopper with exclusive deals from brands like Adidas, Sephora, H&M, ModCloth and more.

“As a trusted and authentic resource, Cosmo is a path to purchase brand for our readers. They discover what’s new from Cosmo, and Hauliday is an organic extension of that relationship,” Nancy Berger, senior vice president-publishing director, Cosmopolitan/Women’s Health/Seventeen, told Publishers Daily.

Planning for Hauliday began over a year ago.

“We really wanted to develop a moment that creates a reason to shop. These generations are digital natives, so we knew that creating a shopping holiday based online was key,” Berger said. “We have seen the success of shopping festivals and knew that it was something our audience would embrace.”

The event marks a point of evolution for both Cosmo and Klarna.

For Klarna, Hauliday represents the next step to becoming an end-to-end shopping service. Klarna brings with it a network of 8 million shoppers in the U.S., creating a singular opportunity for brands to reach new audiences across both that group and Cosmo’s 72 million monthly readers.

For the Cosmo brand, Hauliday allows for a deepening of its commitment to serving its audience the brands and experiences it craves, while also building on its “strong and growing affiliate business.”

“Everything we do at Cosmo is with our audience in mind, and as the largest young women’s media brand in the world, we are able to speak and connect directly with our readers,” Berger said. 

She added: “We believe that content, engagement and commerce belong together. It’s the future. It’s the now."