Sezzle and WooCommerce are the latest companies to team up and offer flexible payment options in an effort to entice merchants to adopt buy now, pay later at checkout and promote adoption among consumers.
By integrating Sezzle within its platform, WooCommerce plans to give its merchants more checkout options, specifically flexible payment options. As consumers demand more payment options at checkout, not having a BNPL option—something more consumers look for in recent years—can be a disservice for merchants.
An Influx of Collaborations
It seems like there have been more BNPL partnerships trickling in over the past few weeks, and that’s because it’s true.
In fact, there were three notable partnerships that we covered in the span of just a few days. Earlier this month, Splitit announced that it was teaming up with AliExpress to offer shoppers in the U.S. the ability to pay for goods and services via payment installments after their item has been delivered.
Similarly, Affirm joined forces with Booking.com, to let travelers pay for their trips over time—particularly targeting consumers who are feeling the effects of inflation but don’t want to pay for the bulk of travel expenses in one go.
And just last week, IKEA announced that it was working with Afterpay to let consumers finance their home goods purchases in a more “budget-friendly” way.
These examples are just a small sliver of partnerships that have come up within the last 12 to 18 months. And we expect to see even more as the appeal of BNPL continues to catch the eyes of both businesses and consumers.
The Perils of BNPL
While the BNPL space continues to be a shiny new object for many, it’s important to note that the space has experienced—and continues to experience—a lot of scrutiny.
Paying via smaller installment plans has been a big selling point of BNPL. In fact, during the pandemic, when the BNPL space saw a lot of traction, many consumers were struggling to make ends meet and fully depended on payment installment plans to be able to afford everyday necessities.
Over the past year, BNPL transactions have faced a lot of regulatory scrutiny. Craig Lancaster, Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, noted earlier this year that “BNPL has drawn a flood of adherents in recent years, with the promise of goods that can go home now for dollars that won’t have to be remitted until sometime in the future.”
There has been a call for added consumer resources, especially for BNPL users who already face challenges with financial stability. Time will tell how this all plans out, but don’t expect to see any slowdown with future BNPL partnerships.