Buy Now, Pay Later Statistics for 2026: Usage, Debt & Trends

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is spreading like wildfire right now, growing from a niche payment option into a juggernaut of the financial system.

It is witnessing ever-increasing adoption rates, especially among younger generations, and is used in more and more daily-life situations, which the statistics below will paint a better picture of.

Key Buy Now, Pay Later Statistics: Editor’s Choice for 2026

• By 2026, 50% of U.S. adults have used at least one BNPL service.
• BNPL represents 2.3% of the total e-commerce market in 2026.
• 25% of BNPL users have used it to buy groceries.
• 29% of Americans have used deferred payment services for everyday expenses.
• 24% of BNPL users have overspent in 2025.

By 2025, some 50% of Americans used BNPL services at least once.

(Numerator)

The same survey found that 39% of users rely on BNPL apps for holiday purchases, while 36% use it for major retail sales events.

The global transaction value for BNPL payments is projected to reach $576 billion in 2026.

(GlobalData)

The same report also stated that BNPL now represents 2.3% of the global e-commerce market, with the Asia-Pacific region leading the spending.

41% of BNPL users paid late on a loan in 2025.

(LendingTree)

The data from 2026 shows that the year before, the percentage of BNPL users with late payments on their loans rose by 7% compared to the year before.

25% of BNPL users have used it to buy groceries.

(LendingTree)

Grocery shopping is seeing one of the strongest rising trends among BNPL users, growing by a staggering 11% in just a year.

In 2025, PayPal processed more than $40 billion in BNPL payment volume globally.

(PayPal)

This represented a 20% increase compared to the year before, which was a similar rise seen in 2024, as the company’s Pay in 4 service dominates the U.S. market.

26% of Americans say they are more likely to buy when BNPL is offered.

(Empower)

BNPL adoption increases purchase likelihood from 17% to 26% and can increase basket sizes by 10% or more.

57% of users say they choose BNPL mainly to stretch cash flow.

(Bankrate)

The other main reason that consumers stated was the fact that BNPL purchases come with low or no interest, as 40% of them said it was why they used these apps.

43% of consumers used or planned to use BNPL for 2025 holiday shopping.

(Experian)

To get a better picture of just how much BNPL adoption has grown in just a few years, the number was 20% in a similar survey from 2023.

BNPL users are disproportionately lower purchasing-power households.

(Numerator)

Numerator found that BNPL users are more likely to be from urban families earning under $60,000 a year, and that they are 42% more likely to fall into the lower third of purchasing power.

17% of small businesses used BNPL for recent purchases in 2025.

(J.D. Power)

Small businesses are also increasingly adopting BNPL, with this sector seeing 4% growth compared to the year before.

Zip reported 93.0 million transactions in fiscal 2025.

(Zip)

The number of transactions rose by 22.1% compared to the previous year, as demand is growing even among smaller providers.

BNPL orders produce an average order value more than 80% higher than standard branded checkout transactions.

(PayPal)

Similarly, BNPL can increase checkout rates by 20% to 30%, making it an essential tool for reducing cart abandonment issues, especially for lower-priced items.

Affirm’s gross merchandise volume is expected to be more than $49 billion in 2026.

(Affirm)

In the fiscal second quarter of 2026, Affirm saw its GMB rise by 36% year-over-year.

In 2025, 37% of U.S. consumers used BNPL in the past 90 days.

(J.D. Power)

This represented a 5% increase compared to the data from the year before, showing that BNPL is now well beyond the early adoption stage.

Americans spent $20 billion through BNPL during the 2025 holiday season.

(Adobe)

Consumers are using BNPL for holiday purchases more and more, as the overall spending value grew by 9.8% compared to the year before.

Overspending is the most common BNPL problem, affecting 24% of users.

(Bankrate)

The latest survey found that some 16% of BNPL users missed at least one payment, and 15% regretted a purchase.

23% of BNPL users have had three or more active loans at once.

(LendingTree)

The same report has shown that 60% of BNPL users hold multiple loans at the same time, highlighting one of the biggest issues that plague this market right now.

33% of BNPL users in 2025 saw it as a bridge to their next paycheck.

(LendingTree)

The number is up from 30% in 202, showing a trend that more and more people use BNPL to manage cash flow.

In 2025, some 29% of Americans used deferred payment services for everyday expenses.

(AP-NORC)

This includes health care, groceries, entertainment or restaurant meals, indicating a continued expansion of buy now, pay later into everyday purchases.

Average monthly BNPL spending by users increased by nearly 21% in 2025.

(Empower)

The average monthly spending in 2024 was $201.60, and it grew to $243.90 in a single year, as users lean more and more on installment payments for everyday purchases.

Klarna ended 2025 with 118 million active consumers.

(Klarna)

This represented a massive 28% increase year-over-year for one of the biggest companies in this fintech space.

Gen Zers accounted for 30.2% of U.S. BNPL users in 2025.

(Emarketer)

Younger people are more quick to adopt BNPL, as some 50.7% of Gen Z digital buyers used these services last year.

49% of American consumers say that they make more impulse purchases due to BNPL.

(PartnerCentric)

Another report also showed that 46% of respondents spend more than they would normally due to the availability of BNPL.

Final Thoughts

BNPL is now a massive part of the every-day life and the economy, as adoption grows and holiday spending is increasingly more reliant on it. 

However, it has also led to higher rates of overspending, loan stacking and late payments, further increasing the financial strain that many people today are experiencing.

The more buy now, pay later shifts from a checkout perk into a paycheck bridge, the more important it becomes to treat it like real debt rather than frictionless convenience.