BNPL Finds Favor Among Consumers Amid Rising Prices

Buy now, pay later, the now established installment-payment option, is finding favor among consumers facing higher prices.

That’s the word from a new report from Forter, an online fraud-prevention provider, based on its latest survey. Twenty-five percent of the 2,000 U.S. consumers surveyed by Talker Research say they use BNPL options to shop, and 56% of them are using it to manage costs. “The cost-of-living increase means that consumers are fundamentally altering their online shopping habits,” Doriel Abrahams, Forter principal technologist, says in a statement. “When times feel tight, consumers will naturally look for ways to cut costs and corners.”

Consumers, too, are looking for other ways to pop the stress of ballooning prices. Ten percent are using their credit card points and airline miles to afford travel, Forter says, with 66% of them relying on these rewards more often than they did five years ago.

Consumers also are cooperating more to get better deals. Among the Gen Z cohort, those born between 1997 and 2012, 24% are willing to share passwords to online subscriptions. Even the preceding generation—Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996—are keen to cut their shopping costs, with 20% willing to open multiple online accounts to receive promotions. Overall, 15% of consumers resell highly sought-after products.

If consumers are looking for deals amid high prices, brands should consider perks and options to entice them, Forter says. An e-commerce site offering free shipping could persuade consumers to shop on a regular basis, the survey found, followed by offering affordable goods, 61%, frequent sales, 36%, free and easy returns, 34%, and loyalty programs, 33%, rounding out the possibilities.

“Brands that want to maintain customer loyalty and value in this macro environment must evolve, too. From the simple–but important–perks to the full checkout experience, consumers want more and better from their favorite brands,” Abrahams says.