High Inflation causing families to use buy now pay later options on groceries

More and more people are turning to buy now, pay later options for groceries amid high inflation.

With rising food prices and tight finances, more consumers are turning to buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to purchase groceries and takeout.

Driving the news: Last year, approximately 6.5% of the US population, or 15 million consumers, used BNPL installment loans to pay for groceries, with about 5.4% of low-income households utilizing this option. Experts predict that this trend might continue into this year as consumers across all income groups struggle with increasing prices.

  • Even higher-income earners, making over $100,000 annually, were found to use BNPL installment loans to purchase food each month.
  • Half of the consumers earning over $100,000 revealed cutting back on nonessential spending at the grocery store, while over 60% of those earning under $100,000 had to reduce their spending due to high food costs.

What they’re saying: Erika Kullberg, an attorney and personal finance expert, explains that BNPL offers a short-term solution for managing expenses by allowing shoppers to spread out payments over time.

  • “As the cost of living rises, people find it harder to manage their budgets and cover their expenses,” she told Yahoo Finance. “Therefore, BNPL offers a short-term answer by allowing shoppers to spread out payments over time.”

State of play: While food prices remained flat for most items in February, they are still 22.3% higher than 2020 levels, causing households at every income level to make sacrifices.

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