Leading ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Platform Poised To Save Users $459 Million in 2021
A new report from research firm Accenture reveals that the “Buy Now, Pay Later” platform Afterpay could save consumers as much as $459 million through 2021 by using BNPL instead of a credit card. This equals roughly $6 per order.
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The study found that Afterpay users are more than twice as likely to pay their bill on time compared to credit card users, which can save money in both credit card late fees and interest payments. While BNPL payments aren’t reported to the credit bureaus, avoiding late credit card payments by using BNPL can still help preserve your credit score. A high credit score can earn you lower interest rates on everything from loans to car insurance, saving even more money.
It’s not just consumers who are benefiting from BNPL services, the study showed. The Afterpay platform has driven $8.2 billion in incremental sales for retailers and other businesses. Afterpay fashion spending totals 6.5% of all U.S. fashion e-commerce.
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The study found that the increased sales were sparked by:
- Improved online checkout conversion rates
- Larger customer basket sizes
- Exposure to new customers
- Increased customer engagement
- Increased repeat purchases
Merchants also saved money by offering the platform as a payment method. The study showed that businesses saved $590 million in 2021, with nearly half of that savings coming from reduced customer service costs.
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To date, nearly 100,000 retailers use the Afterpay service, which was named by GOBankingRates as one of the top five “Buy Now, Pay Later” services of 2021.
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Last updated: October 7, 2021
