Splitit’s just-released holiday spending report found that Gen Z is the leading demographic cohort that is prioritizing the use of pay-later options for personal purchases, at 42 percent, and for entertainment, at 35 percent. Twenty-five percent are using pay-later options for dining out this holiday season.
Other findings include that 47 percent of Gen Z polled said the availability of their preferred pay later plan “will influence where they shop this holiday.” The research also showed that 65 percent of Gen Z decide to use a credit card installment plan before checkout. In addition, 25 percent of Gen Zers polled said they did not use split-payment plans this holiday season “because they were unaware of their availability.” The report also found that 35 percent of Gen Z admits to overspending this past year.
Nandan Sheth, chief executive officer of Splitit, said Gen Z “has overextended themselves financially this year and, given this cohort’s well-known price sensitivity, this is a notable trend. As a result, many of these young adults are prioritizing where to spend their money this season and will rely on their favorite pay-later options to finance personal splurges, including entertainment and dining out. Brands must offer flexible payment options this holiday in order to gain market share with the Gen Z consumer.”
The report, titled “Use of Card Installment Plans in Holiday Shopping,” is a Pymnts Intelligence and Splitit collaboration. It is part of a series of reports that look at consumer preferences for installment plans. The survey for the holiday report was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 and involved more than 5,200 consumers.
Other key findings include that Gen Z is the least likely cohort “to use flexible payments for gifts this year at 60 percent, compared to Baby Boomers (73 percent), Gen X (68 percent) and Millennials (65 percent).” Researchers also found that 44 percent of Gen Z said they will use pay-later options “to rationalize large, impulse purchases. In fact, 21 percent of shoppers overall will use pay later this holiday to make purchases out of their budgets.”
Regarding preferences for payment options, the report found that credit card installments outrank buy now, pay later usage for Gen Z. “Almost half (46 percent) of Gen Z increased their use of pay later using credit card installments this year,” the report’s authors said, adding that this is the highest increase of credit card installment usage across generations, “with 21 percent of Baby Boomers, 33 percent of Gen X and 41 percent of Millennials increasing their usage.”
When it comes to traditional buy now, pay later, the data showed that less than 44 percent of Gen Z respondents had increased their usage of this pay later method.
