The ‘buy now, pay later’ installment programs that have become increasingly popular in the US are fast threatening to replace the dominance of traditional purchasing methods like layaway and credit cards. This report delves into people’s buying habits and the trends that are defining the BNPL sector.

 From Amazon and Walmart to Klarna and PayPal, a number of top retailers and fintech companies have been making shopping a smooth and stress-free ride for American shoppers by allowing them to split payments for their purchases into a fixed number of installments. BNPL, or buy now, pay later services, have been around for some time, but they saw a huge uptick during the pandemic with a change in consumer spending habits and a surge in e-commerce adoption. While the sector is witnessing explosive growth and even the entry of silicon valley giants like Apple and Mastercard, there is also rising concern and scrutiny over its potential downside of creating high consumer debt. Given our changing attitudes and lifestyles, how interested and absorbed are Americans by these newer payment alternatives? Piplsay polled 30,880 people nationwide to get some insights. Here is a summary of what we found:

Other Insights

• • 57% of men have used ‘buy now, pay later’ services in the past year as compared to 43% of women
  • Similarly, 39% of Millennials have used ‘buy now, pay later’ services in the past year as compared to 34% of Gen Xers and 27% of Gen Zers
  • 43% of Gen Zers have missed their BNPL payments at least once this past year as compared to 31% of Millennials and 26% of Gen Xers
  • 42% of Gen Zers have made purchases of $300 or less this past year as compared to 31% of Millennials and 27% of Gen Xers

Survey Methodology: This Piplsay survey was conducted nationwide in the US  from September 28-30, 2021. We received 30,880 online responses from individuals aged 18 years and older.