Consumer Behavior

Buy now, pay later catching fire with Gen Z, millennials

Photo by istock.com

November 17, 2021

More than half, nearly 60%, of Gen Z and millennials have bought a product on social media using a buy now, pay later option, according to a study from StitcherAds.

"Recently, we've seen buy now, pay later options grow in popularity as a way to keep up with the rapid shift to online shopping during the pandemic," Bryan Cano, director of strategy at StitcherAds, said in a press release on the findings. "Our analysis discovered that consumers of all generations use BNPL tools, but millennial and Gen Z shoppers are doing so at much higher rates. This is likely because BNPL provides younger consumers — whose cash flow tends to be more limited — better financial flexibility, especially for larger-ticket items."

The study also revealed 58% of millennials prefer to see all of the details about a new product or brand in an ad, and don't want to have to go to a company's website to learn more.

"The way millennials consume information is very different," Cano said in the release. "They are analytical and they want access to information on-demand. This also speaks to the need for retailers to work more closely with social platforms since clicking out to their own dedicated sites can seem cumbersome."

However, Baby Boomers (55%) prefer to see less in an ad and would like to discover more about the product or brand being advertised by visiting the company's website.