Buy now, pay Later (BNPL) company Afterpay surpassed $2.1 billion in sales for the month of November, a new milestone that more than doubled last year’s November transactions, the company said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 2).
November sales were bolstered by a busy Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with monthly sales records set in all regions worldwide. The U.S. led the way with the highest monthly sales ever. More than 35 million leads were generated to global retailers and over 1.2 million in referrals were sent to U.S. merchants from the Afterpay Shop Directory on Black Friday alone.
Active users on the platform reached 13 million in the U.S., with about 1 million new users added, along with numerous new retailers. November also saw growth in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in Australia and New Zealand went up more than 60 percent compared to the same period last year.
The PYMNTS September Buy Now, Pay Later Tracker, done in collaboration with Afterpay, indicated that the second quarter saw a 44.4 percent increase in sales at U.S. merchants year over year. The latest Buy Now, Pay Later Tracker released this month shows how installment payment plans can help shoppers and merchants alike.
The latest PYMNTS “On The Agenda” discussion indicated that online shopping is destined for steady growth. A PYMNTS survey in collaboration with PayPal found that a BNPL option was a deciding factor for people regarding where to shop.
Afterpay first began offering the in-store service in 2016 in Australia and New Zealand and has seen steady growth since moving into the U.S. two years ago. In time for the holiday shopping season, the company teamed up with Simon Malls in the U.S.