We are well and truly in the midst of a buy now, pay later (BNPL) boom, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Spending with BNPL is expected to rise from £9.6bn in 2020 to £26.4bn in 2024, further showing just how popular this payment method is with shoppers. In fact, research has found that almost 9.5 million Brits avoid using retailers that don’t offer BNPL. Why should your business offer buy now pay later as a payment method at checkout besides its popularity? We’ve got the answers below.
BNPL leads to larger checkouts
Increasing average order value is a big deal for retailers, and offering BNPL is known to lead to larger baskets at checkout. Shoppers have the flexibility to pay more as they can spread the cost over several instalments.
This gives them more shopping power and encourages them to buy the things they really want safely in the knowledge they can pay back the cost of the item responsibly over several payments. Using BNPL methods like Zip Pay in 4 can increase average order size by an impressive 70%.
This means more sales
Another bugbear for retailers: the average cart abandonment rate sits at around 70% as merchants continually look for ways to lower the number. With BNPL, you can see a significant reduction in shoppers dropping off at checkout.
Failing to offer BNPL could see you lose a significant amount of revenue, with customers going elsewhere for their shopping needs. With the payment method on your side, however, you can empower shoppers to use payment methods that appeal to them, mitigating the dreaded cart abandonment in the process.
Broader audience
By allowing shoppers to split their payments over weeks or months, you can appeal to a wider range of customers. Again, BNPL is actively sought by more than nine million shoppers who prefer this payment method to debit and credit cards.
Millennials and Generation Z, in particular, favour BNPL when shopping, and they’re fast becoming two of the most important buying demographics. Therefore, offering BNPL means you’ll appeal to vital shopping personas and reach a wider audience of younger people.
Repeat spend
Not only will BNPL increase your sales, but it’s likely to drive repeat purchases. If customers actively seek it out as a payment method, they will be keener to keep coming back to merchants who offer BNPL at checkout.
Shoppers tend to stay with trusted ecosystems. First, it was customers using the same high-street retailers when they found one that met their needs. That’s now evolved into the online world, with customers preferring to remain with trusted vendors. The result is consumers shopping frequently with your business and coming back to purchase more.
It’s interest-free
Many BNPL methods are interest-free for customers. Already, that offers a significant advantage over credit cards, which can come loaded with high-interest rates. It also means that customers know the exact amount they need to pay on each instalment.
For example, if someone buys an item worth £500 and splits the cost over four instalments, they’ll know that each payment will amount to £125, as opposed to a credit card, where interest rates can see them paying more.
Seamless integration
Using a partner like Deko for BNPL means a seamless integration where you can be up and running within 24 hours. We use technology that works with all web stores, meaning we can get you offering BNPL to your customers at speed.
It blends effortlessly into your website design, so customers get a fluid experience when choosing BNPL as a shopping option. Plus, there’s full support from the team. That means you can get in touch with us when you need to and get help and advice on how to maximise BNPL on your website.
BNPL + Multi-lender = success
We also provide a multi-lender option, which means there are three lending panels working in tandem. If a customer is rejected from the first lender for finance, they’re automatically moved onto the next one without their shopping experience being disrupted. The result is more acceptance rates, which means increased sales for your business.
Summary: Buy now, pay later for the win
There’s no doubt that buy now, pay later has become a popular payment method sought out by customers. It gives merchants of all sizes the chance to offer their customers more ways to pay while increasing their own ambitions of getting higher average order values and more sales. BNPL looks set to become as normal as cash, debit and credit cards, and offering it at your checkout can help your business in the short, medium and long term.
