U.S. buy now, pay later, by age and gender 2023

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 pressure

BNPL 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.

Share of respondents who said they had used a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service in the United States from 2020 to 2023, by age and gender

Characteristic	Jul 2020	Mar 2021	Jun 2022	Jul 2023
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-	-	-	-	-
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Release date

October 2024

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

July 19, 2023

Number of respondents

2,000 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

The source made significant changes to this reporting in October 2024, see the "Details" tab for more information; Penetration within said consumer group, i.e. 57 percent of all male respondents in 2022 had used BNPL

Method of interview

Online panel

Supplementary notes

The source changed its reporting in October 2024. First, the age groups changed into "Gen Z", "Millennials", etc. with no further information on what comprises these groups. Second, and most importantly, the source added the figures for 2024 concerned BNPL use "at least once since it became available [in the United States]." This was not the case in previous publications. The source added that the 2024 reporting was powered by ChatGPT.

The source adds the following information for the survey respondents:

Gender distribution: 59 percent female, 41 percent male;
Age distribution: 11 percent 18-24 years old; 24 percent 25-34 years old; 31 percent 35-44 years old; 15 percent 45-54 years old; 18 percent over 54 years old.

Missing percentage points to 100 percent are probably due to rounding.

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