29M US Consumers Used BNPL in the Past 12 Months

To get a sense of just how pervasive buy now, pay later (BNPL) has become in the fabric of U.S. commerce and embraced by consumers across the country, consider this: 29 million consumers have used the payment option to make a purchase in the past year.

And the desire to use BNPL is certainly there: In the “Next BNPL Horizon: Expanding Access to High Value Services,” done in a joint effort between PYMNTS and AWS Financial Services, we found that 111 million U.S. consumers want to use BNPL to purchase high-value services.

And 59 percent of U.S. consumers are willing to use BNPL services offered by third-party providers.

The ability to pay for retail purchases in installments over a fixed term lends some predictability to cash flow, to payments and helps consumers juggle the minutiae of financial life a bit more securely.

As for where BNPL is being used: 44 percent state they are using BNPL to buy clothing and accessories; almost 42 percent are using BNPL for electronics and appliances.

 

When asked what categories of spending would be the most attractive for leveraging BNPL, nearly 28 percent cited travel and vacation services; more than 27 percent said out-of-pocket medical expenses.