Almost a quarter of Generation Z plan to use BNPL this holiday season

According to Credit Karma, 49% of Americans are feeling stressed about being able to afford holiday shopping this year. And according to Deloitte, shoppers are likely to spend 8% more on gifts this year than they did a year ago.

A recent Modern Retail+ survey conducted in collaboration with Attest reveals how many consumers expect to pay for their gifts.

We asked nearly 2,000 consumers how they planned to finance the holidays. More than half (58%) said they expected savings or a debit card. But 41% said they planned to use credit and 18% said they would rely on buy now, pay later services.

It turns out that Generation Z is also interested in using alternative payment methods for holiday shopping. According to the survey, 22% of Gen Z respondents said they plan to use BNPL for Christmas shopping.

Another big question was whether early sales this year resulted in people buying their gifts before Black Friday. According to the study, big events like Amazon’s second Prime Day may not have won over most shoppers.

Almost half (45%) of respondents said they started their holiday shopping in November. Meanwhile, 12% said they started in October, the same month Amazon launched its big Prime Day sales event.

Still, some people say they don’t even start shopping on Black Friday. Almost a quarter (22%) said they would start shopping in the first week of December.

The question arises as to whether early Christmas marketing had an effect on shoppers. With the shorter time span between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many retailers and brands are trying to push for early sales. However, data shows that some people may still be waiting until the last minute.