To offer financing options that will reward customers for loyalty and provide them with flexible financing, Crate and Barrel has announced a partnership with Synchrony. Through the arrangement, Crate and Barrel will pair with Synchrony on a private label credit card as well as a new dual-branded card, the companies said in an announcement.
“In making our selection, we were seeking a trusted partner that could provide both expertise in consumer financing as well as digital tools to help us continuously enhance the customer experience,” Crate and Barrel CFO Kevin Sierks said in the announcement. “With quality products and expert tips for inspired living, Crate and Barrel is passionate about helping people love how they live in moments that matter, and Synchrony’s offerings will make it easier for our customers to achieve those moments.”
The partnership will offer financing options in nearly 100 Crate and Barrel brick-and-mortar stores as well as through the company’s digital channels. The new Synchrony-backed credit cards are expected to be released later in 2018.
The news comes more than two years after Synchrony Financial and The Container Store announced a multi-year partnership and a consumer credit card that comes with special financing options and deals on products from The Container Store.
“The Container Store is a retail innovator, and we are excited to partner with its experienced team to provide payment options that help customers fulfill their aspiration for productive and organized homes,” Glenn Marino, executive vice president and CEO for payment solutions at Synchrony Financial, said in a press release at the time.
A partnership between a financial company and a storage provider might seem a bit out of sorts at first, but data from CreditCards.com indicated that consumers spend over $150 billion using store-branded credit cards each year. With so many high-margin items, The Container Store may be looking at its partnership with Synchrony as a way to make big-ticket closet and kitchen storage products more appealing to customers through promotional financing options.