Gen Z Proves Hardest for BNPL Providers to Please

While the vast majority of consumers are highly satisfied with their buy now, pay later (BNPL) experiences, PYMNTS Intelligence research finds that many Gen Z users believe that there is still room for improvement.

By the Numbers

For the report “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: What BNPL Needs to Win Wider Adoption,” created in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, PYMNTS Intelligence surveyed a census-balanced panel of more than 3,100 consumers in June about their usage of and experiences with deferred payment plans.

The results reveal that, when it comes to BNPL, Gen Z is the least likely to feel their expectations are being met. Nearly three-quarters of consumers across age groups using BNPL reported that they were very or extremely satisfied with their BNPL options, while only 56% of Gen Z said the same — a significantly lower share than any other generation.

A Deeper Dive

This finding is especially notable given that Gen Z is a key demographic for BNPL providers.

In fact, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Credit Accessibility Series: BNPL’s Wide-Ranging Impact on Consumers and Merchants,” created in collaboration with i2c, found that if BNPL were unavailable for a given purchase, 27% of Gen Z would opt not to buy the item

Plus, PYMNTS Intelligence’s study “The Credit Economy: How Younger Consumers Make Credit Decisions” found that Gen Z consumers primarily use BNPL for practical, smaller purchases, such as clothing, which accounted for 39% of BNPL use among Gen Z consumers, followed by groceries and restaurant purchases. On the other hand, baby boomers and seniors are more likely to use BNPL for big-ticket items, such as furniture purchases.

Indeed, for these young consumers, using BNPL is a key way to being able to afford nice-to-haves, and a significant share, if not given the option, would rather go without these discretionary purchases.