"It wasn't just shoppers with strapped budgets that boosted buy-now, pay-later services to a record-setting $1 billion in transactions on Cyber Monday. It was also the brands and fintech companies that pushed the services front and center. This holiday season, more brands deployed BNPL services with different payment options beyond the more familiar "pay-in-four" structure, whether a six-month payment plan at 0% interest or a 24-month installment loan with interest. And the services are showing up in more digital wallets. Apple Pay users, for instance, can now toggle a payment plan with Affirm and Klarna, while Afterpay has new integrations with its sister company Cash App."
"Tanuj Parikh, head of commercial for Cash App and Afterpay, said BNPL services have become more common across all sectors as the space has matured. They're also more often positioned at the start of the purchase journey, rather than just as a checkout button. "Retailers have gotten a lot smarter, where payments shouldn't just be a bottom-of-the-funnel thing," he said. "Doing site takeovers and having full 'surround-sound' marketing across that journey are the things that work really well.""
"Afterpay wouldn't share how many more retailers are in its network compared to 2024, or data on how specific campaigns performed. But new merchants who joined ahead of the holidays include some higher-end apparel and accessories brands like Thursday Boot Company, Tecovas, Diesel and Jenni Kayne. Parikh said the company is also furthering its push into wellness services, travel and ticketing."
Buy-now, pay-later transactions reached a record $1 billion on Cyber Monday as brands and fintech companies promoted BNPL more prominently. Retailers expanded BNPL beyond "pay-in-four" into six-month 0% interest plans and 24-month installment loans with interest. BNPL features are appearing in more digital wallets, including Apple Pay integrations with Affirm and Klarna and Afterpay's integrations with Cash App. Brands ran campaigns highlighting 0% interest, longer installments, and promotions such as Sephora's 25% off for Klarna or Afterpay users. Afterpay added higher-end apparel merchants and is expanding into wellness, travel, and ticketing.
Read at Modern Retail
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