Online shopping demand drives growth of buy now, pay later payment methods

With the surge in online shopping demand, consumers' shopping habits are gradually changing. More and more consumers tend to choose more flexible payment methods , and the number of consumers using buy now, pay later (BNPL) services is also increasing . According to foreign media reports, it is expected that by 2025, 30% of e-commerce spending in Europe will be carried out through buy now, pay later services.

AfterPay Insights monitors consumer behavior on a monthly basis and analyzes the drivers of where consumers choose to shop and their payment method preferences . As expected by AfterPay Insights, the surge in online shopping is partly due to the influx of consumers from physical stores to online channels , coupled with the convenience of online shopping methods, which has led to a growing group of online shopping consumers .

The analysis also identified that heavy online shoppers ( those who purchase more than 10 times a month ) are crucial to the e-commerce industry . These heavy shoppers only account for about 15% of total consumers , but they have strong purchasing power , and about 50% of online shopping behaviors are generated by these heavy online shoppers . Another important finding is that these heavy online shoppers tend to choose online stores that provide flexible payment methods for shopping.

As consumers shop more online and retention rates improve, their demand for flexible experiences throughout the purchase process is also growing. According to AfterPay's shopping frequency breakdown, approximately 41% of heavy online shoppers in Germany, the Netherlands and Norway said they needed flexibility in online shopping in the second quarter of 2021 , compared to only 26% of light online shoppers .

Flexible payment methods are a key factor driving the overall flexibility of online shopping. Heavy online shoppers are more inclined to use new payment methods such as buy now, pay later. Some consumers who are new to online shopping value the security of online shopping more. For these shoppers, buy now, pay later services can be an attractive way to ensure security and trustworthiness , that is, there is no financial risk and returns are also convenient .

In general, due to the surge in online shopping demand , the demand for flexible payment methods will also grow further. Due to security, convenience and other reasons, in addition to some heavy shoppers , consumers who shop less frequently online are also slowly being attracted. With the rapid development of e-commerce, the development trend of the buy now, pay later payment method is unstoppable .

Payment Methods

Buy now, pay later

Online Shopping