BNPL Takes the Holidays By Storm: Black Friday In-Store Shopping up 442% with Afterpay

Afterpay insights confirm the holiday season is back and bigger than ever, with omnichannel shopping driving demand

Afterpay, the leader in “Buy Now, Pay Later” payments, today released its consumer shopping trends from Afterpay’s 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.

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Spending on BNPL in the US has increased 230%¹ 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, e-commerce 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 Afterpay shopping lists². 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.

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Additional 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,” said Zahir Khoja, Afterpay’s GM of North America. “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.”

With over 20 million North American customers³, 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 2021⁴. 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 Afterpay’s global merchant partners⁵.