'Buy Now, Pay Later' transactions surge 300% on ZestMoney in 2021

'Buy Now, Pay Later' (BNPL) transactions on ZestMoney surged 300 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, as per the platform's 'The India Buy Now, Pay Later Report 2021'. According to ZestMoney, the report decodes the top consumer preferences, categories driving demand, adoption of BNPL by merchants and highlights triggers for shift in consumer behaviour. 

As per ye report, most of ZestMoney's customers (median) were in the 23-26 years group, BNPL emerged as the preferred option for people across age groups with the youngest customer being 18 years old and the oldest at 66. 

The platform noted that the millennial and GenZ customer base increased by two-fold and three-fold respectively. It added that this indicates that the BNPL segment has been driven by young cohorts in India in line with the global trend. 

The report also revealed insights on what men and women shopped for across the country. While men from Tier 1 and 2 cities spent heavily on fashion and lifestyle, women from Tier 1 and 2 cities spent on upgrading their electronics and edtech courses for upskilling, respectively

Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Thane, Kolkata, and Jaipur emerged as the top cities witnessing demand for BNPL in 2021. While Lucknow, Kanchipuram, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Tiruvallur, and Coimbatore were the other top Tier-II and Tier-III cities on the platform. 

ZestMoney explained that Direct to Consumer (DTC) brands took to enabling BNPL at checkout as they saw an increase in sales and average order value. The platform saw a 10-fold YoY growth in the number D2C merchants on its platform indicating the popularity of the BNPL option among them

It further added that during the festive season customer applications for BNPL went up by 10-fold with top categories being smartphones, electronics, large appliances, fashion, furniture, and home decor. ZestMoney witnessed a 200 per cent growth in transactions on Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra compared to last year. While physical stores observed growth of 100 per cent during the festive season compared to 2020.

Commenting on the report, Lizzie Chapman, CEO and Co-founder of ZestMoney said, "2021 was an intense year, with the volatility of the pandemic coupled with its impact on the consumer we serve - from pain to recovery and then rapid demand acceleration over the last two quarters."

"We've doubled our user base in the last 12 months taking our total registered user base to 15 million - almost 2X growth. It's been a well-rounded growth across categories from smartphones, electronics, fashion, and home decor emerging as the top categories on the platform," Chapman added. 

Chapman further added that ZestMoney now has over 50 per cent market share in the Indian BNPL market and over 70 per cent market share in the online 'Pay in 3' no-cost interest-free offering. The platform is confident that would hit a $10 BN GMV run rate in the next 3 years. 

Also read: BNPL spends on the decline amid the third wave of COVID-19

Also read: Budget 2022: Govt should clarify taxability of cryptocurrencies