Buy now Pay later research: Do consumers like this feature?

Buying something now and paying later can help the consumer and the business. The business can sell something, and the consumer buys something they may not have purchased if they had to pay the full amount right there and then. In this consumer study, we focused on Buy now Pay later research to get a pulse on consumer sentiment toward this way of paying.

"I personally really appreciate the Buy now Pay later forms of payment. To be quite honest, in the type of economy that we're in right now, making one big purchase and paying it in full is difficult."

The methodology

In a few hours, we completed the study of 100 respondents through Voxpopme’s Influence market research online community (MROC) of on-demand consumers.

We combined quantitative and qualitative questions in the study, and the platform neatly packaged the results in one dashboard.

buy now pay later research overview

buy now pay later research overview 2

 

On the quantitative side, we asked:

  • How do you usually pay for larger purchases? (This was a screener question with only “Buy now Pay later” answers advancing.)
    • Buy now Pay later
    • Credit card
    • Cash
    • Bank transfer
    • Other
  • How has your experience been with Buy now Pay later?
    • Positive
    • Negative
    • Neutral

On the qualitative side, we asked:

  • How do you feel about ‘Buy now Pay later’?
  • Tell us about your experience with ‘Buy now Pay later.’
  • What do you like or dislike about it?
  • Why would or wouldn’t you recommend this service to friends and family?

Read next: Not sure what to ask? Check out Voxpopme’s tried and tested open-ended questions for video research.

The results

Here’s a  quick highlight reel of reactions:

The quant results

Just about all consumers that have used Buy now Pay later said they had a positive experience shopping this way.

buy now pay later consumer sentiment

 

The qual results

Respondents recorded a quick asynchronous video message for the qual questions – selfie-style, directly from their phones.

The automatic sentiment analysis showed that 53 percent of all statements were positive, 20 percent negative, and 27 percent neutral.

buy now pay later research sentiment

Unlike the quant questions – which are self-reported answers – this sentiment analysis pulls from what respondents said in their video responses.

The automatic theme explorer and Word Cloud gave me an idea of some of the most mentioned topics.

buy now pay later research themes

At times, I also use the Theme Builder and my knowledge of the subject to build and group themes for topics that I consider related.

word cloud buy now pay later research

The analysis

Next, I read through the transcripts of the responses. This is an easy way to read some more in-depth, skim ahead when applicable, and go back to previous answers in seconds.

I'm grateful for Buy now Pay later because sometimes you don't have the money at the moment.

Why consumers like Buy now Pay later:

  • It makes purchases easier in a tough economy
  • Convenient
  • Allows purchases even if short on cash currently
  • Easy process to use
  • Making a big purchase doesn’t seem as intimating
  • Like to pick intervals of payments
  • No fees as long as payments are made on time

Sharon, 23, of Uniondale, said, “I feel like I can’t live without Buy now. Pay later anymore.”

What consumers don’t like about Buy now Pay later:

  • Interest rates (on the flip side, some consumers like the zero-percent interest deals)
  • Can affect credit score if payments aren’t made on time

So Buy now Pay later has been a hit with most consumers, who have used it to buy anything from groceries to larger consumer goods and many things in between.

Kendra, 33, of Forth Worth, does offer a warning, though, not to overuse it.

“One thing I dislike about it is it can become a crutch if you use it too often,” she said. “So honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it to family just for that reason.”

"I think it can get you in a financial bind, but as long as you are able to pay that off and you have money coming in all the time, it's actually a really good thing. I've used it for groceries, toiletries, animal stuff, kids stuff, everything."

Where to next?

Some consumers mentioned that they would like more companies to offer Buy it Pay Later. That could be an opportunity to ask consumers at what price point Buy now Pay later is relevant to them. I’ve seen it for what I would consider smaller purchases, for example, but that threshold certainly is a personal decision for consumers.

Read next: How you can use video surveys for your next project!

 

 

What’s a question you’d like to ask consumers?