How important are buy now, pay later solutions to holiday shoppers this year?
Inflation will take a toll on many shoppers this holiday season, according to YouGov polls in the US and UK.
The latest data reveals that at least two-thirds (68%) of holiday shoppers in the US indicate their shopping will be majorly or moderately impacted by inflation. Similarly, 66% of UK holiday shoppers say inflation will at least have a moderate impact on Christmas shopping this year.
For shoppers who may not be able to pay in full, credit cards or buy now, pay later (BNPL) services enable them to purchase gifts and pay them off over time. YouGov data shows there’s measured interest for BNPL solutions among holiday shoppers in both the US and UK, especially among those who are feeling financial pressure from inflation.
In the US, more than one in 10 holiday shoppers this year (13%) say having BNPL options will be essential to them and an additional 30% indicate while not essential, BNPL options will be nice to have.
The share of consumers who say BNPL solutions will be essential or at least nice to have increases to 47% among holiday shoppers who say their shopping will be majorly or moderately affected by inflation. Roughly half (48%) of this group say that BNPL options will not matter much to them this year.
One group stands out even further for their feelings toward BNPL solutions: lower income holiday shoppers. This group earns less than 75% of the median income and one in five (19%) indicate that BNPL options are essential to their shopping experience this holiday season. A further 34% say that BNPL would be nice to have but not essential.
BNPL does not seem to be gaining as much traction among the same groups in the UK. For example, just 7% of British Christmas shoppers view BNPL options as essential this holiday season. A quarter (24%) of the same group deem BNPL as nice to have but not essential, although this figure rises to 27% among Christmas shoppers who are moderately or majorly impacted by inflation in the UK.
Data from YouGov Profiles—an advanced audience intelligence tool—reveals that this may be because most inflation-impacted Christmas shoppers in the UK say they find the idea of being in debt stressful, even more so than the stance held by the general population (85% vs. 81% of UK adults).
In addition, just half of these inflation-impacted Christmas shoppers believe that it’s normal to take on some personal debt (48%) and even less so when you’re young (22%).
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