With the holiday shopping season in full swing, consumers are using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans for everything from groceries and dining out to travel, technology items and home decor. CNBC’s Small Business Survey reported higher BNPL popularity among Black and Hispanic Americans with 12% and 13% respectively saying they use these platforms for holiday purchases, compared to only 5% of white Americans. Fast growing BNPL companies like Klarna and Affirm are expected to capitalize on this and set new records this season, driving $18.5 billion in online spend, up 11.4% from this time last year.
The Breakdown You Need To Know: BNPL options have emerged as a powerful tool in driving financial inclusion, particularly for those who are credit invisible or subprime consumers. LexisNexis Risk Solutions notes that as of November 20th, BNPL usage has increased by 23% compared to last year. Currently, 69% of existing BNPL users have revolving credit card debt that carries over month to month. With high fees, inconsistent consumer protections, and encouragement by retailers to borrow more by purchasing more, buyers need to tread carefully.
The BNPL market is expected to reach $3.98 trillion by 2030, according to Allied Research, here-in lies the issue, because many consumers don’t fully understand this new form of debt financing, it’s easy to get caught up in a bad financial situation. During the 2023 holiday season, 91% of BNPL transactions were from repeat customers.
The 2024 holiday season is expected to be the most mobile of all time, with a record $128.1 billion spent through mobile devices, while also propelling usage of Buy Now, Pay Later services, according to Adobe Analytics. Experian found in its survey that the average purchase amount of a BNPL loan is $132.
CultureBanx reported that younger people are helping to fuel the BNPL economy. Nearly half of millennials and members of Generation Z say they are highly likely to finance at least one of their holiday purchases using options like credit cards, BNPL or personal loans, according to a Lending Club report. In Adobe’s survey, 39% of millennials plan to use BNPL services this season, followed by 38% of Gen Z.
What’s Next: Bite-sized payments over time may seem like a great alternative but the reality is that it’s still risky. Inflation continues to erode household budgets, pushing the need for new financial “olive branches” to be introduced into the market. Perhaps this is why a 2024 LendingTree survey found that 47% of BNPL users had made a late payment on one of the loans, including 34% who had paid late on one in the past year.
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