Afterpay Reports Biggest Ever Buy Now Pay Later Holiday Season – Up 230% Year on Year

Afterpay, the leader in “Buy Now, Pay Later” payments, today released its consumer shopping trends from their insights database for this year’s highly-anticipated Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping. Based on this data, consumers are choosing to shop in-store and online – with a 34% increase of orders through Afterpay this holiday season year-over-year. 

Check Out These Resources

• Do you need a business bank account for your online business? Take a look at our review of the five best bank accounts for sellers, some of which are free with no minimum balance or deposits. ^[sponsored]
• Boost your social media engagement with Publer. Learn how you can save time writing engaging content faster with AI. ^[sponsored]
• Could your online business use capital for growth? Here is a primer on revenue-based loans, and how they work.

Spending on BNPL in the US has increased 230% in the last year and continues to surge through the busy holiday shopping period, as consumers return to in-store and shop online. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Afterpay found 11% more Gen Z consumers shopping year-over-year through its platform to purchase items.

After a year of accelerated digital adoption, eCommerce is still maintaining a stronghold with a 30% increase year-over-year of Afterpay users spending online. Additionally, due to supply chain issues, a staggering 442% more shoppers are buying items in-stores year-over-year rather than waiting for online orders to arrive. 

Retailers specializing in the fashion and fitness categories were the most popular with shoppers this year – up 26% and 46% year-over-year, respectively. Gen Z and Millennials are looking for fresh styles, including clogs, weekender bags, and trucker hats which were at the top of customers shopping lists. Afterpay’s merchant partners also saw an 8% increase in basket size on Cyber Monday, as consumers secured the best online deals. 

Beyond fashion and apparel, consumer interest in homeware and beauty has increased. Leading home items such as air fryers, candles, coffee makers were up 22% year-over-year, while popular beauty items such as lash curlers, foundation, and mascara were up 5% year-over-year – further illustrating the expanded interest of the Afterpay consumer looking to use BNPL for all lifestyle categories.  

AfterPay Black Friday and Cyber Monday Highlights in 2021

• Top U.S. categories: 
  • Fashion
  • Footwear
  • Beauty
  • Homeware
  • Fitness
    
• Top U.S. best-selling items:
  • Clogs
  • Weekender bags
  • Trucker hats
  • Pajamas
  • Shoes

“As we celebrate another holiday season in the pandemic, consumers were eager to gain a sense of normalcy and spend on gifts for themselves and loved ones,”

“Compared to previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekends, we’re thrilled to partner with even more U.S. merchants to offer Afterpay’s convenient and flexible payment method – revitalizing brick-and-mortar spending and helping consumers budget before the new year.”

Zahir Khoja, GM of North America, Afterpay

With over 20 million North American customers, Afterpay is the preferred BNPL solution for consumers looking for an accessible way to make purchases. Consumers saved up to $459m in credit card fees by making purchases with Afterpay in 2021. As consumer preference transitions away from credit cards, 88% of U.S. shoppers used debit cards this holiday season to shop at nearly 100,000 of their global merchant partners.