Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a consumer financing option that allows your customers to bring home your goods or services without paying the full amount upfront. With BNPL, shoppers put up just a fraction of the total cost, then finish paying their balance in monthly payments.
The question is this: is BNPL the right fit for your business? In this article, we’ll explore five ways that BNPL can serve both you and your customers and help you determine if consumer financing is a good option for your business.
1. Sell More In-Store and Online with BNPL
Buy Now, Pay Later services increase sales both in brick-and-mortar stores as well as online. When you present consumer financing options to customers at the beginning of the shopping experience, you empower them to make the purchases they want without feeling limited by a lack of on-hand cash.
Many merchants who utilize BNPL services see significant increases in cart size, with one UK study showing upwards of a 68 percent increase! Thirty percent of surveyed shoppers using BNPL said they wouldn’t have purchased if financing options hadn’t been available. BNPL enables customers to shop freely, helping your business thrive.
2. Attract Younger Customers with BNPL
For several reasons, young adults are less likely to own credit cards than their elder counterparts. Thanks to the 2009 CARD Act, credit card applicants under 21 have a difficult time acquiring a credit card. Age and ability to repay standards and mounting student debt are all obstacles keeping students, recent graduates, and younger millennials from being granted credit approval. But the Buy Now, Pay Later option is increasingly appealing to this demographic.
Up to 87 percent of surveyed consumers between the ages of 22 and 44 expressed interest in a BNPL financing option. Additionally, 40 percent of millennials report having already utilized a BNPL option. BNPL allows consumers to bring home big-ticket items without the burden of an in-full, upfront payment, making it an appealing option to younger shoppers without credit cards.
BNPL allows shoppers to split up their payments over a set period of time, allowing you as a business owner to serve a wider breadth of consumers. Regardless of their ability to pay in full, your customers can bring home the items they want and enjoy them now with a BNPL financing option.
3. BNPL Saves Time and Resources
Buy Now Pay Later options can help you move more products and serve more customers. And partnering with United Consumer Financial Services makes it simple. You apply to become a merchant, and once approved, your customers can apply for financing options that fit their needs without disrupting their planned monthly spending.
BNPL financing options through UCFS give you the flexibility to sell to more customers without the time and resource commitments that come with in-house financing. Once your customer makes a purchase, they make all payments to UCFS through auto-pay or the online portal according to their payment schedule. Because UCFS handles customer payments and communication, you have the time and energy to focus on building your business and caring for your customers.
4. BNPL Boosts Transaction Value and Conversion Rate
Giving consumers payment options gives them the freedom to make purchases that they ordinarily wouldn’t be able to. Study after study shows us that consumer financing options increase Average Order Value (AOV). For example, when an item’s cost is broken into 12 payments instead of one, shoppers can make those purchases with confidence, knowing that they can easily fulfill those payments over the course of a year.
According to one study, offering a BNPL option for customers can increase your AOV by up to 45 percent. By providing financing at the point of sale, you empower shoppers to purchase more without jeopardizing their budgets.
5. BNPL Appeals to All Shoppers
Buy Now, Pay Later is especially attractive to younger shoppers who have difficulty acquiring a credit card or don’t desire one. But the BNPL financing option appeals to shoppers of all ages. In fact, the most significant growth of BNPL usage is in shoppers over 54 years of age.
To answer our original question at the top of the article, yes. Every age group, every demographic, regardless of shopping habits—show preference toward businesses that offer BNPL solutions. Buy Now, Pay Later is the right fit for your business, especially if you partner with a firm you can trust.
United Consumer Financial Services has been providing consumer financing solutions for decades. Over the last 40 years, our team has offered consumer financing that has helped build businesses and provide exemplary service, fostering long-term relationships with our clients across the country.
BNPL solutions will increase your sales. And the team at UCFS will help you implement financing services that change how you do business starting today.
Offer BNPL Today
If you aren’t offering Buy Now, Pay Later options, what’s stopping you? In the last year alone, BNPL usage has jumped 50 percent. What’s more, more than half of all Americans have used a BNPL service.
If the last few years are any indicator, the market for Buy Now, Pay Later services will continue to grow. Consumer financing allows your clientele to make purchases with no guilt and allows you to serve a larger pool of shoppers.
When you’re ready to bring Buy Now, Pay Later to your business, United Consumer Financial Services will provide financing services that serve both you and your customers!