During the holiday shopping season, 42% of American consumers used buy now, pay later

In the U.S., 42% of consumers plan to use BNPL for holiday shopping, according to a survey by payments provider GoCardless . Among millennials, that number jumps to 60%.

A third of respondents said they would spend $99 more if BNPL was available , and 26% said they would spend $200 more. The reasons consumers use BNPL and are willing to spend more when using it are that they want to give their loved ones a nice gift during the holiday season as the pandemic continues , and to help stabilize their finances after weathering the economic turmoil.

Popular items consumers purchase when using BNPL include clothing ( 39% ) , computers and laptops ( 33% ) , and gaming consoles, such as PlayStation and Xbox ( 32% ) . In a recent research note, RBC analyst Daniel Perlin agreed that BNPL use is most common in the fashion, electronics, homewares, and health and beauty sectors .

“While overall BNPL usage remains low at just 0.4% of total retail sales and 2% of online retail sales , BNPL’s share of fashion retail and online fashion retail has grown to 8% and 12%, respectively , ” Perlin said in the report . “We believe strong penetration in fashion and consumer interest in using BNPL across all types of purchases has highlighted untapped opportunities in other verticals. ”

Additionally, according to Perlin, the popularity of BNPL has led to changes in consumer credit and debit card habits . “Since the beginning of 2020, BNPL spending has increased by 230%, which is about five times the growth rate of debit cards and 30 times the growth of credit cards during the same period , ” Perlin said . “According to data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve, credit card balances have steadily declined (18%) from August 2018 to March 2021, and credit card usage has continued to decline in 2021. ”

“With e-commerce booming and the holiday shopping season upon us, it’s no surprise that BNPL and other online payment options are becoming our preferred method of checkout when we click on the checkout page , ” said Hiroki Takeuchi, CEO and co-founder of GoCardless, in a prepared statement.

Buy now, pay later

Holiday Shopping Season

consumer