While BFCM weekend was record setting across the board for most retailers, the behind-the-scenes winners of the weekend were buy now pay later providers.
- Splitit told Business Insider that order volumes were up 62% during Cyber Week compared with last year, and that average order value was about $800, up from $650 last year.
- Affirm data showed that BNPL represented 7% of e-commerce sales this year, up from 2% in 2020. It also noted that customers are using the service more frequently, going from about three transactions a year in 2022 to more than five now.
- Klarna said it saw a 26% increase in orders from Black Friday to the following Sunday.
- Afterpay said it saw a 10% increase from Friday through Monday.
- Adobe said BNPL use reached a record high on Cyber Monday, accounting for almost $1B in sales.
- Of the $131.5B in online spending tracked by Adobe during the month leading up to Cyber Monday, $9.4B was spent using a BNPL.
Merchants are using BNPL to increase both sales and average order value.
For example, Splitit's CEO Nandan Sheth told Business Insider that one of his clients offered two smartphone models, with BNPL available only on the more expensive option. Sheth said, “They had 45-50% skewed towards the expensive phone because the consumers were selecting the ability to split the payment.”
BNPL doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon either. PYMNTS reported that Affirm has partnered with eight more major merchants and retailers including Agape Diamonds, Discount Tire, Ever/body, FullBeauty, Garmin, Hotels.com, Living Spaces, and Sweetwater.
According to the company, Affirm accounts for a third of the volume and more than half of the revenue in the US buy now pay later space.