Dive Brief:

• Signaling the dominance of card transactions online, a PYMNTS report found consumers paid for their online Black Friday purchases using credit cards (49.4%) and debit cards (47.7%) the most this holiday season, followed by PayPal (26.7%), gift cards (10.9%) and Apple Pay (12.7%). Reaching a new high, 10.2% of shoppers paid for their online purchases using buy now-pay later services.
• The report also found that 42.8% of shoppers paid for their in-store Black Friday purchases with cash, followed by debit cards (39.8%), credit cards (37.4%) and PayPal (17.5%). While the use of credit cards dropped in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020, the use of cash rose compared to the last two years.
• Almost a third of Black Friday shoppers used credit lines, loans or installment payment plans to buy their holiday purchases, according to the report. The report, which found that 45% of respondents said they lived paycheck to paycheck and struggled to pay their bills, found that this cohort was the most likely to use loans, buy now-pay later options or credit lines to cover their Black Friday purchases.

Dive Insight:

Similar to PYMNTS' research, other reports suggest an uptick in buy now-pay later usage during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The report found that 10.2% of consumers used buy now-pay later options to pay for their online Black Friday purchases, from 8.2% in 2021 and 3.7% in 2020. For in-store Black Friday purchases, 7.9% of consumers used buy now-pay later services, up from 5.6% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2020.

According to Adobe, BNPL orders during Cyber Week rose 85% from the week prior, and BNPL revenue also jumped 88%.

Meanwhile, research from the customer service technology company Bluedot suggested that millennials and Gen Z were turning to BNPL services more than other generations. Under half (48%) of Gen Z survey respondents and 47% of millennials said they will use buy now-pay later options to pay for their holiday purchases. And while 4 in 10 Gen X shoppers are using BNPL companies, only 14% of Baby Boomers said the same.

But while more consumers are turning to installment payment providers to finance their holiday purchases, other research suggests a shift in the kinds of purchases they are making. Data from Salesforce found that more consumers are using BNPL services for less expensive items instead of costlier purchases. As a result, the average order value for BNPL transactions dropped in the U.S. by 6% on Thanksgiving, according to Salesforce.

Though consumers are relying more on BNPL providers to stretch their holiday budgets, research has shown that these providers may be causing cash-strapped consumers more harm than good. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, the University of California–Irvine and the Singapore Management University found that using BNPL services resulted in more bank overdraft charges, credit card charges and credit card late fees, which negatively affected consumers' financial health.