Usage of the flexible payment method hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday, driving $1.03 billion in online spend (up 4.2% YoY), as consumers looked for greater flexibility in managing their holiday budgets. The vast majority of BNPL transactions are happening on a mobile device as well, at 79.4% share on Cyber Monday (vs. desktop). In an Adobe survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers (conducted Nov. 2025), respondents said they were most likely to use BNPL for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture purchases.
Source: Adobe Analytics.
It really should be called “buy now, pay more later”. When are these greedy fucks going to learn that it’s not good when consumers don’t have money to spend? If all their money goes towards interest payments then we see a collapse in demand.
Except many BNPL options are 0% interest rate. I just renovated an apartment with ikea stuff and they offered me 0% interest rate over 1 year - it makes no sense to not take this offer.
Many companies would gladly lose 4% (avg inflation) to guarantee a sale especially when dipping on loans are basically impossible today for the average consumer.
Until you miss a payment and they hit you with the fine for missing a payment.
THEY HAVE TO MAKE MONEY!
Just don’t miss payments then. They make money from sales cut not from fees. E.g. Amazon will take 6% loss to get a sale giving Klarna 3% and losing 3% to inflation.
Looking at Klarna for example it’s 5$ late fee and then it gets reported to relevant authorities (credit, collections etc.) and they just block you.
It’s not that tricky like payday loans or similar. The issue at hand is really just people buying more than they can afford because they are not charged instantly.
I don’t know if we have enough information. I agree with you that BNPL purchases are typically bad for the consumer, but I don’t necessarily think any to call people greedy in a difficult economy. Sometimes, people end up in shitty situations, trying to keep their life together, even when they can’t afford to.
Was the volume items purchased greater than before or are prices just completely out of control? The article doesn’t indicate that it accounts for inflation. Inflation was about 3% and BNLPL was up 4%.
What about the types of items that were purchased? It doesn’t actually say what types of items were used to BNPL transactions so we don’t know if it was household needs or unnecessary consumption.