• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 23, 2025

Gen Z’s desire for discount offers has been well documented. But there is another dimension to this shopping pattern: younger consumers like to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), judging by a new study from PartnerCentric. 

Of the Gen Zers polled, 59% are using BNPL In contrast, 37% of boomers now take advantage of BNPL, along with 41% of G X. Only millennials come close to Gen Z, at 58%.  

Savvy ecommerce marketers should be able to segment their email lists by age as determined by past behaviors and shared zero-party data to reach out to the younger audience.  

In addition, 65% of Gen Z is planning to use BNPL more this year, as are 35% of consumers in general. 

In general, 46% of BNPL users are spending more than they would normally, and 49% say they make more impulse purchases due to BNPL.

Consumers make an average of two BNLP payments in a month, with the average monthly payment totaling $761. The median smallest purchase is $100 and the largest $900. The average minimum price that drives them to use BNPL is $250.  

People cite such BNPL benefits as:

• Easier to budget — 86% 
• No effect on credit score — 41% 
• Feels less scary — 40% 
• Feels like free stuff — 23% 
• Hide large purchases (from bank statements) — 18%

One would assume there is a certain amount of bad debt. The study shows that 21% of BNPL users have missed a payment. 

In addition, 41% are concerned about their credit score, as well they should be: Experian recently announced that it would start incorporating Affirm BNPL data into its credit monitoring and reporting metrics.

Does this bother BNPL users? Of those polled, 45% are unbothered by it, while 28% say they will use BNPL more and 27% say they will use it less. 

In any case, credit cards are by far the most popular payment method—86 of consumers use one. But 50% are in debt, and 40% worry about their credit scores. 

Still, 75% of BNPL users prefer that method of payment to a credit card. 

What are they buying with BNPL? Popular purchases include:

• Electronics — 77%
• Furniture — 45%
• Home goods — 43%
• Clothing — 43% 
• Accessories — 38% 

PartnerCentric surveyed 1,006 Americans in April 2025. Of those, 49% were women and 50% were men, while 1% were either nonbinary or chose not to disclose. Ages ranged from 19-75 with an average age of 37.

The full study can be found here.