There has been a 28 percent increase in buy now, pay later (BNPL) transactions from October to December 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to global provider of real time digital payment software ACI Worldwide.
The data showed that BNPL transactions peaked by more than 43 percent in October as shoppers began their 2021 holiday shopping early.
In addition, fraud attempts increased by 14 percent between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday with fraudsters targeting electronic items.
According to the data, the value of transactions increased 28 percent in October 2021 compared to October 2020 as concerns of delivery delays and low inventory drove consumers to begin their holiday shopping early.
Moreover, buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) adoption continued to increase 68 percent from October to December 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
Meanwhile, October 2021 experienced a peak at 99 percent compared to the same period in 2020.
Consumers are also showing a continued interest in picking up their orders from in-store lockers as merchants adopt this fast and safer self-service method.
ACI’s data showed that transactions in the travel and ticketing sectors nearly doubled (99%) between October to December 2021 compared to 2020, with November being the strongest month.
The travel industry’s special offers including flexible booking and last-minute travel bookings resulted in a 2.5x increase in travel packages.
However, the increase in travel and ticketing purchases drove up the average ticket price for fraud attempts in these sectors.
Debbie Guerra
“As the popularity of BNPL continues to gain traction, we saw a significant increase in the number of consumer transactions via this payment method over the 2021 holiday season.
In addition, BOPIS has shown no signs of slowing down as safety measures due to the spread of Omicron have driven more consumers toward picking up their items from in-store lockers.”
said Debbie Guerra, Head of Merchant Payments, ACI Worldwide.
Feature image credit: edited from Unsplash and Pexels
