Annual buy now, pay later (BNPL) users in the U.S. 2020-2023, by age and gender

BNPL use in the United States declined among all age groups in 2023 for the third successive year. A recurring survey reveals the overall share of respondents who used buy now, pay later decreased by 15 percentage points between June 2022 and July 2023. The decline was highest among younger generations. Over 61 percent of respondents ages 18 to 24 said in 2022 they had used a BNPL service - a figure significantly higher than the almost 38 percent recorded in a previous survey in 2020. By 2023, this penetration rate reached 42 percent. The trends observed here are in contrast with U.S. e-commerce vendors who were planning to add BNPL to their website's payment options in 2022.What caused the decline in BNPL use?The source does not explain why figures declined between surveys. Cost of living did change online shopping payment behavior in the United States. Credit cards, BNPL, and crypto were all used more often, but neither saw the biggest growth: 51 percent of respondents who changed their payment habits because of the rising cost of living in 2022 are paying online with debit cards more often than they did in the previous year. BNPL was not a popular choice for everyday shopping. Groceries ranked among the least likely product types for which U.S. consumers would use BNPL. The worsening of economic conditions may well prevent the growth of BNPL in 2023 instead of it being a contributing factor.An industry under pressureBNPL companies face a challenging environment in 2023. Klarna's valuation dropped by 85 percent amidst staff cuts and investor observations the Swedish BNPL provider was not profitable enough. Macroeconomic developments seem to impact the young industry significantly, especially as it is still finding a profit model. Increasing interest rates, especially, puts pressure on these providers. Consequently, Klarna is using generative A.I. as an additional revenue stream. The company is one of 13 that uses a ChatGPT plugin. Artificial intelligence technology helps consumers find curated products based on their search behavior and preferences.

2023年，美国各年龄层对先买后付（BNPL）服务的使用均呈现连续三年下降趋势。一项持续的调研揭示，自2022年6月至2023年7月，选择使用先买后付服务的受访者比例整体下降了15个百分点。其中，年轻一代的下降幅度尤为显著。超过61%的18至24岁受访者在2022年表示曾使用过BNPL服务，这一比例显著高于2020年之前调查中记录的近38%。至2023年，该渗透率达到了42%。观察到的这些趋势与美国电商卖家在2022年计划将BNPL添加到其网站支付选项的情形形成鲜明对比。BNPL使用率下降的原因是什么？资料并未解释为何调查期间数据出现下降。生活成本的上升确实改变了美国在线购物的支付行为。信用卡、BNPL和加密货币的使用频率均有所增加，但并未实现最大幅度的增长：2022年因生活成本上升而改变支付习惯的受访者中，有51%的人表示比前一年更频繁地使用借记卡进行在线支付。BNPL并非日常购物中的热门选择。在所有产品类型中，美国消费者最不可能使用BNPL进行购买的是食品杂货。经济状况的恶化可能会阻碍BNPL在2023年的增长，而不是成为推动因素。处于压力之下的行业BNPL公司在2023年面临着充满挑战的环境。Klarna的估值下降了85%，伴随裁员和投资者对这家瑞典BNPL提供商盈利能力不足的观察。宏观经济的发展似乎对这一年轻行业产生了重大影响，尤其是它仍在寻找盈利模式。尤其是利率的上升，对这些提供商施加了压力。因此，Klarna正在利用生成式AI作为额外的收入来源。该公司是13家使用ChatGPT插件的其中之一。人工智能技术帮助消费者根据其搜索行为和偏好找到定制化的产品。