Fifth of Gen Z will use buy now pay later services this Black Friday

Despite concerns around rising inflation, three quarters of Generation Z still plan to spend money this Black Friday - up 10% from the 67% who said they shopped last year.

This may be down to the rise and rise of buy now pay later services, according to Student Beans.

One fifth of young Americans say they will pay for their Black Friday purchases with a BNPL service, whilst a further 15% will be relying on store credit, according to a new study from the student discount provider, involving 1,658 US 16-24 year olds.

Previous research found a third of Gen Z had used a BNPL service before. Just as many said these services were great, as they help young people to afford what they want to buy.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen more and more brands embrace BNPL services, offering a whole new way of shopping for Gen Z. When used responsibly, it allows young people to evenly spread out costs, letting them make the most of key sales periods like Black Friday and pay them back at a speed that suits them’ says Amie Edwards-McLean, Head of B2B Marketing at Student Beans.

“It’s worth noting that Gen Zs aren’t using BNPL services naively - 52% believe that they’re risky, and almost a third have returned purchases after ordering, but before they’ve been charged.”

“This is characteristic of Gen Zs’ financial savviness - they know their way around e-commerce by now, and will only adopt services that work for them.”

Edwards-McLean concludes: “Understandably, many brands will be unsure how the current financial climate will affect consumer decisions throughout the Black Friday and Cyber Week periods.”

“We predict they will be looking to stack the upcoming offers with available student discounts and BNPL services in order to bag the best bargains.”