• by Ray Schultz , March 14, 2022

Most Gen Z consumers like Buy Now, Pay Later (‘BNPL) schemes. But they are wary of them -- a factor that should be taken into account by email teams marketing to this cohort, judging by a study from the website Student Beans. 

Of the Gen Zers polled in the U.S., 39% believe BNPL deals encourage young people to get into debt, while another 33% feel they help shoppers in this age group buy what they want or need. And 28% are uncertain. In the U.K., 41% are nervous about incurring debt. 

Moreover, while 30% of U.S. Gen Z shoppers who have used a BNPL service, 18% have been late to make a repayment, as have 11% in the U.K.  

And in general, 86% of U.S. students are concerned about their debt as they face what Student Beans calls a “vast unregulated loan crisis.”  

Parents are even more nervous: Fox, which covered this story on Monday, reported that 60% feel BNPL arrangements can be risky, as do 67% of grandparents.

Still, U.S. students have purchased these items with BNPL:  

• Clothes, shoes or accessories — 71%
• Technology — 41% 
• Homewares — 1 9% 
• Travel tickets or accommodation — 10% 

When observed in isolation, 67% of BNPL users in the U.S. feel BMPL helps young people buy the things they need, as do 60% of those in the U.K.  

Fox notes that “BNPL providers like Afterpay, Klama, Sazzle and Affirm allow consumers to break online purchases down into monthly installments.” 

StudentBeans surveyed Gen Z shoppers in the U.K. and U.S. in October 2021.