Highlights. Nearly 1 in 5 American consumers used Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) in 2023.
- Consumers primarily use BNPL for smaller transactions with an average loan size of $135.
- On average, BNPL users have borrowed $2,085 across all their BNPL purchases.
- The typical BNPL purchase requires a 25% down payment and has 0% interest over the six-week repayment period.
U.S. BNPL Statistics
Buy Now, Pay Later first appeared as a payment method in the United States in 2019.
- An estimated 88.2 million people in the U.S. used BNPL in 2023, up 11.6% year-over-year (YoY).
- In 2024, 93.3 million American consumers will use BNPL, up 5.78% YoY.
- The average BNPL loan amount is $135 over six weeks; for comparison, traditional installment loans average $800 over 8-9 months.
- 73% of applicants were approved for BNPL credit in 2021, 4% more than in 2020.
- 89.3% of BNPL users report making all payments on time and in full.
- 10.5% of BNPL borrowers were charged at least one late fee in 2021, up from 7.8% in 2020.
- 77% of BNPL users make installments using a debit card or bank account.
- 10% of users make installment payments using a credit card, 8% use a payment service, and 6% use a prepaid card.
BNPL Use Statistics
29% of consumers offered BNPL and 19% of consumers overall used this payment method in 2023.
- 64% of U.S. consumers report being offered a BNPL payment option in 2023.
- 5.2% of BNPL customers are frequent users, having used this payment method over ten times in the past year.
- Heavy users of BNPL are 41.3% more likely to recommend it to others.
- 53.2% of Americans who used BNPL in the past year used it only 1-3 times.
- 53.2% of BNPL users say they will probably use this payment method again.
- 57% of non-users believe that lack of credit is the primary reason people use BNPL. However, only 19.1% of actual users choose BNPL for this reason.
- Convenience is the most common reason people use BNPL at 52.6%.
- Women are 58.7% more likely to have used BNPL than men, but men are 5.4% more likely to be heavy BNPL users.
- 22.7% of women and 14.3% of men in the U.S. report using BNPL in the past year.
BNPL Quarterly Statistics
18.9% of American consumers, on average, used BNPL in each fiscal quarter of 2023.
- In the fourth fiscal quarter (Q4) of 2023, 19.9% of consumers made at least one purchase using BNPL, up 5.29% from Q3 2023 and up 12.4% YoY.
- In Q3 2023, 18.9% of consumers used BNPL, up 6.78% from Q2 2023.
- In Q2 2023, 17.7% of consumers used BNPL, down 7.81% from Q1 2023.
- In Q1 2023, 19.2% of consumers used BNPL, up 8.47% from Q4 2022 when 17.7% of consumers used BNPL.
BNPL Use by Age
Users of BNPL in the United States tend to be young, with 48.5% of users under 36 years old.
- 22% of consumers under 36 have borrowed using BNPL, compared to only 10% of those over 65.
- Users younger than 36 are 54.5% more likely to cite a lack of credit as their reason for choosing BNPL.
- 15.6% of 40- to 60-year-olds have used BNPL in the past year, the lowest rate of any age group.
- 20.3% of consumers under 40 years old and 20.1% of consumers over 60 years old used BNPL.
- Consumers over 60 years old are most likely to use BNPL when offered at check-out, with 34.3% of those offered using this payment option in the past year.
- 27.9% of consumers under 40 and 23.8% of consumers over 60 offered BNPL chose this payment method in the past year.
- 40% of global BNPL users are between 25 to 34 years old, the most of any age group.
- Only 4% of BNPL users worldwide are over 55.
BNPL Use by Region
In the United States, BNPL is most popular with consumers living in southern states.
- 23.8% of consumers in the South used BNPL in the past year, a 25.3% higher rate than the average for all regions.
- Of consumers in the South who were offered, 37.4% used BNPL in the past year.
- 16.5% of consumers in the West used BNPL or 25.7% of those offered.
- 15.2% of consumers in the Northeast used BNPL or 21.8% of those offered.
- 14.8% of consumers in the Midwest used BNPL or 22.9% of those offered.
BNPL Use by Demographics
BNPL users are more likely to be employed; 70.6% have full or part-time employment, 6.97% more than users of other payment methods.
- 72.6% of Buy Now, Pay Later users earn less than $75,000 annually.
- BNPL users earning less than $40,000 have the highest proportion of light users at 57.8%, and those earning more than $75,000 have the most heavy users at 19.1%.
- People renting their homes are 51.9% more likely to use BNPL than homeowners.
- 24.3% of renters and 16% of homeowners used BNPL in the past year.
- 22.7% of consumers with a high school level education used BNPL, a 73.3% higher rate than those with a college degree.
- 13.1% of college-educated consumers used BNPL or 19.7% of those offered.
- 37.2% of BNPL users have a credit score below 620, a rejected credit application, or a delinquent loan, a 95.8% higher rate than U.S. consumers on average.
- 88% of BNPL users have an open credit card, 13 percentage points more than non-users.
- BNPL borrowers have, on average, $11,981 less in non-retirement savings and cash than consumers who do not use BNPL.
- 25% of BNPL users have zero non-retirement savings or cash that could be used in an emergency.
U.S. BNPL Market Statistics
The BNPL market is exploding; from 2019 to 2021, the number of BNPL loans in the U.S. grew 970% from 16.8 million to 180 million.
- The Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV)* for BNPL purchases totaled $116.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $171.6 billion by 2029.
- In 2024, BNPL purchase volume is expected to total $132.7 billion, up 14.1% YoY.
- Buy Now, Pay Later GMV tripled between 2020 and 2021 and is 12x more than in 2019.
- The average BNPL purchase amount grew 11.6% from $121 in 2020 to $135 in 2021.
- BNPL results in an 85% higher average order value than when customers use other payment methods.
- BNPL omnichannel shoppers spend 72% more per transaction when compared to other online shoppers.
- Up to 40% of BNPL sales come from new customers to the retailer.
BNPL Purchase Categories
Home & furniture is the most popular spending category, with 42% of users making these purchases with BNPL.
- 48% of shoppers 25 to 34 have used BNPL to purchase home appliances, 29.7% more than the average of all age groups.
- 30% of BNPL purchases are for electronics, making this the second most common BNPL category.
- 62% of 18 to 24-year-old consumer electronics shoppers have used BNPL to purchase video gaming consoles.
- Using BNPL for “everyday” purchases such as gas, groceries, and utilities totaled $229.2 million in 2021, up 434% from 2020.
- Apparel & beauty products accounted for 80.1% of BNPL payments in 2019 but only 58.6% in 2021.
- Globally, retail accounts for 73% of BNPL revenue.
- BNPL usage for retail purchases is estimated to grow 24.3% annually through 2030.
- The fashion sector accounts for over 43% of global BNPL revenue.
- The expected BNPL annual growth rate for fashion and garments is 27.2%, the most of any spending category.
BNPL Holiday Shopping
In the 2023 holiday season, consumers used BNPL for $17 billion in purchases, up 16.9% YoY.
- 19.9% of consumers used BNPL during the 2023 holiday shopping season, up 12.4% from the same period in 2022.
- 20% of shoppers planned to use BNPL to purchase gifts during the 2023 holiday season.
- On Cyber Monday 2023, consumers used BNPL for $782 million in purchases or 6.52% of all online sales.
- BNPL use on Cyber Monday 2023 was up 18.8% from $658 million in 2022.
- BNPL spending is estimated to have reached $9.3 billion in November 2023, the highest monthly GMV on record for this payment method.
- In October 2023, BNPL spending drove $6.4 billion in online sales, up 6% YoY.
Global BNPL Market Statistics
The global Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is worth $7.63 billion; projections indicate that it will be worth $38.57 billion in 2030.
- From 2023 to 2030, the worldwide BNPL revenue is projected to have a compound annual growth rate of 26.1%.
- The global BNPL GMV is an estimated $300 billion.
- North America has the highest revenue share in the global BNPL market at 29.9%.
- The Asia Pacific BNPL market is set to grow by 28.4% annually through 2030, the fastest of any region.
- Europe’s BNPL payments have a current GMV of $167.0 billion, with a projected increase to $269.7 billion by 2029.
- From 2022 to 2023, BNPL website traffic grew 24.3% to 420.8 million visits.
- The combined monthly users of the top BNPL apps have risen 96.5% from 5.7 million in 2021 to 11.2 million in 2022.
- 40% of Australian consumers use Buy Now Pay Later, and 45% of online retail businesses in the country offer BNPL as a payment method.
BNPL Company Statistics
There are 5 major firms offering BNPL in the U.S.: Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay, Zip (formally Quadpay), and Sezzle, accounting for over 95% of the market share.
- The five major lenders originated $24.2 billion in BNPL loans, or GMV, in 2021.
- Two of the biggest BNPL companies operating in the US are Australian. BNPL has existed in Australia since 2015, four years earlier than in the U.S.
- Of the other top BNPL lenders, Affirm and Sezzle are headquartered in the U.S., and Klarna is a Swedish company.
- The top three BNPL applications, Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, each have over 1.7 million unique downloads.
- Emerging BNPL firms in the U.S. include Zip, Sezzle, and Uplift with over 280 thousand app downloads each.
- 2 out of 5 of the leading BNPL lenders prohibit removing a payment method, meaning borrowers cannot “turn off” autopay.
- BNPL lenders earn 13.4% of their revenue through consumer fees and 6.9% from late fees.
Klarna
Klarna is the most offered pay-later service on the internet both in the U.S. and globally.
- In 2024, Klarna’s U.S. payment volume is expected to reach $21.99 billion, up 16.8% YoY.
- 42.8 million American consumers will use Klarna in 2024, spending an average total of $513.47 per user.
- Many major retailers including Nike, Instacart, and Sephora offer Klarna as a payment option at check-out.
- Over 570,000 live websites offer Klarna globally.
- 217,000 websites in the U.S. use Klarna, 38.0% of all sites using this payment method.
- 127,000 or 22.3% of websites offering Klarna are based in Germany, the most of any country after the U.S.
Afterpay
Afterpay is most popular historically in the U.S., with 1.4 million Americans making 20.9 million individual transactions with this lender in 2020.
- In 2024, Afterpay’s U.S. payment volume is expected to reach $9.16 billion, up 13.2% YoY.
- 19.3 million American consumers will use Afterpay in 2024, spending an average total of $474.14 per user.
- Afterpay is the only primary BNPL lender that does not conduct a soft credit check on its customers.
- Over 117,000 live websites offer Afterpay worldwide.
- 52,000 websites offer Afterpay in the U.S., 44.4% of the worldwide total.
- Afterpay is the 2nd most offered service on the internet in the pay later category, both in the U.S. and globally.
Affirm
Consumers prefer Affirm for large purchases. The average payment size for Affirm is $91.80, 94.8% larger than installments made to the other major BNPL lenders.
- In 2024, Affirm’s U.S. payment volume is expected to reach $20.16 billion, up 6.50% YoY.
- 16.4 million American consumers will use Affirm in 2024, spending an average total of $1,227.34 per user.
- Affirm is the only major BNPL provider with no late fees.
- Over 21,000 live websites offer Affirm worldwide.
- 19,000 websites in the U.S. offer Affirm, 88.9% of the global total.
- Affirm is the 4th most offered pay-later service on the internet, both in the U.S. and globally.
Sezzle
Sezzle is used more for smaller purchases than the other BNPL lenders, with an average installment size of $23.30.
- Over 31,000 live websites offer Sezzle worldwide.
- 25,000 websites in the U.S. offer Sezzle, 82.1% of the global total.
- Sezzle is the 3rd most offered pay-later service on the internet, both in the U.S. and globally.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- Federal Reserve Bank Philadelphia, Consumer Finance
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Reports
- Klarna, About Klarna
- Harvard Business School, Buy now, pay later credit: User characteristics and effects on spending patterns
- Nielsen, The rise of buy now, pay later services in Australia opens up the impulse opportunity
- Intuit, Buy now pay later surges throughout pandemic, consumers’ credit takes a hit
- Statista, Markets
- Grand View Research, Buy Now Pay Later Market Analysis
- Similarweb, The Rise of BNPL
- Research and Markets, Europe Buy Now Pay Later Business and Investment Opportunities Databook
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Who Uses “Buy Now, Pay Later?”
- Adobe, News
- Builtwith, Trends
- eMarketer, Insights