The Emergence of Buy Now, Pay Later
Let’s break down the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) trend and how retailers should approach enabling these capabilities for their customers.
By: Andy Wegleitner, Sadichchha Adhikari, Shaye Vineyard, Maddie Goertzen, Logan Patterson
Introduction
Versions of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) have existed throughout the history of commerce in different capacities. Previously known as installment plans, layaway programs, and payment plans, today’s version is more convenient, more digitally-enabled, and more brand-friendly. BNPL has a few key characteristics related to convenience for the customer and market opportunities for the retailers that make it an important centerpiece strategy for any retailer looking to not only diversify buying options for their customer, but expand purchasing power for millions of shoppers as well.
BNPL has showcased unprecedented growth over the past few years. More specifically, global sales volumes using BNPL were $93 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $181 billion by 2022, a 94% growth in just two years.¹ These numbers are not the only factors indicating a promising future for BNPL. Retail giants like Amazon and Apple are adopting the payment strategy, and fintech giants are entering the space by way of acquisition, like Square (who acquired Afterpay), adding to the earned confidence in this newer, revamped financing capability.²
What is BNPL?
BNPL platforms offer a variety of payment options for customers. At its core, BNPL is a point-of-sale installment loan.³ When the customer purchases a good with BNPL, they will first pay a portion of the upfront cost, then pay out the rest with little to no interest fees attached. Often soft credit checks are performed – BNPL can negatively impact credit stores if payments aren’t made in time.
Today, the leaders in this market are companies like Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay, and Paypal. The most common type of BNPL service is split payments, otherwise known as “Pay in 4”, a charge that is split into four payment installments with little to no interest fees and only requires a soft credit check. The other commonly documented service is installment loans, where the cost of the good is likely more expensive, and the length of the payback schedule is longer. This type of payment requires interest fees and a soft credit check as well. However, these installment loans are typically more readily approved compared to more traditional lines of credit. For example, Peloton offers Affirm as a BNPL service so that their customers can break down their big-ticket purchase with as low as 0% APR.⁴
Emerging Trends
What is leading to BNPL’s massive growth? To name a few factors, BNPL offers a lower barrier to purchasing for the younger generation of shoppers paired with easy-to-access digital platforms. These convenience factors have made BNPL a particularly attractive financing option for Gen Zers, whose use of BNPL has grown six-fold from 6% in 2019 to 36% in 2021, closely followed by the tripling of Gen X adoption and doubling of Millennial adoption.⁵ In addition to this power in the hands of customers, the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many to reconsider brick-and-mortar options for online purchasing, BNPL is clearly becoming a go-to for many customers and retailers alike.
As BNPL services become more widely adopted, leaders in this industry are making strides to differentiate themselves by adding value for both merchants and customers. These value-adds include features like digital wallet and physical retail, and super app ecommerce capabilities. Traditional fintech companies have also taken note of this widespread adoption and are building out their own BNPL capabilities as well.
Digital Wallet and Physical Retail: While many BNPL platforms saw a rise in usage during the pandemic, especially when access to physical retail was limited, some are now expanding their service offerings to cater to in-store purchases. As recently as the 2020 holiday season, Afterpay began partnering with brick-and-mortar locations. The company’s partnership with Simon shopping centers included a holiday campaign with in-store signage that boasted “25% up front, 100% under the tree” and “On the sixth week of Christmas… Everything was paid for.”⁶ The integration of digital wallet services has empowered brands like Afterpay and Klarna to reach a greater physical commerce audience. Users can download the BNPL app, set up an account, add the card to their digital wallet and use it in accepting stores.
Super App Ecommerce Capabilities: As these platforms grow their user bases and brand reputations, they are developing direct in-app shopping capabilities to compete with the likes of Amazon and Walmart, while also adding value for merchants. Apps like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm partner with merchants to offer a streamlined shopping service that include rewards programs and other incentives. Klarna, for instance, rolled out a holiday email campaign that added lists as an in-app service. Users can browse through any integrated retailer catalog, create a collection of saved products, and share with other users. Despite Klarna’s profitability over its’ first 14 years of operations, the company has not broken even in the last two. According to the company this is an intentional tactic as they double down on user acquisition and digital growth.⁷
Traditional Fintech Companies Rise to the Challenge: As the BNPL concept grows in popularity, conventional financial establishments are eager to leverage this powerful new segment of consumer market share. Mastercard for instance is rolling out its’ own “Mastercard installments”, to offer Pay in 4 and other installment plans. Some differentiators Mastercard and other banks may be able to provide is greater fraud protection than their fintech counterparts. While BNPL services offer fraud assistance, Mastercard allows the customer to dispute the changes directly with them versus the retailer.⁸
Why Does BNPL Matter to Retailers?
Accelerates Consumer Decision to Buy
No longer is the price tag of a product a significant deterrent and definitive end to the customers’ buying journey, as BNPL provides financing options that alleviates the question of affordability. This way, customers are able to make a decision to purchase earlier on in their product exploration journey, potentially leading to higher motivation and willingness to purchase, and therefore ultimately increasing revenues for the retailers.
Increases Cart Size and Conversions
The average order value for a BNPL transaction is $200, increasing the cart value by $100 when compared to regular payment options.⁹ This increase in willingness to spend is supported by many of the consumer-facing benefits of BNPL options that are discussed later in this paper; interest-free payments, an alternative to credit cards, etc. As a result of these benefits, BNPL also leads to increased retail conversion rates of 6%, compared to 4% for retailers that do not offer this option.¹⁰
Improves Customer Engagement
More flexible payment options allow customers to continue to stay engaged with a brand. Statistics showed that around 93% of Afterpay’s gross merchandise value in the most recent fiscal year comes from repeat customers — those who are looking to purchase from a brand they have previously shopped with, but need help financing.¹¹ BNPL increases financing options and overall engagement with customers, but there is also a component of trust that it introduces for some shoppers. Having simpler financing options increases trust between retailers and consumers, leading to higher sales and higher frequency of purchase overall.
Why Does BNPL Matter to Consumers?
Increases Buying Power
BNPL is gaining popularity at a stage where 87% of today’s consumers between 22 and 44 years old would like to be able to break up large purchases into installments.¹² BNPL gives consumers a more wallet-friendly way to make a purchase, meaning that the price tag of an item is no longer a significant deterrent in the ability to purchase an item, which in turn increases customer satisfaction.
Increased Payment Transparency
With most BNPL providers offering interest-free payment plans, BNPL has become a transparent, easy-to-use option, particularly for the younger generation of shoppers who may be looking for alternatives to credit cards. Credit cards usually have a higher barrier to entry, higher impact on credit scores, interest rates, and a more cumbersome application process. BNPL offers many of the same benefits without any of the pain points, making it a go-to option for consumers.
Easier to Use
Not only are BNPL platforms more accessible than credit cards, but the way these platforms integrate with major retailers creates an easy-to-use option for consumers as well. With properly road-mapped integrations, retailers are able to maintain the point-of-sale interface that users are aware of and seamlessly introduce providers like Klarna and Affirm in fine print to their check out pages. While the customer still goes through a separate BNPL portal for the actual payment, this ability for an integrated digital experience allows consumers to have a uniform payment experience throughout their digital journeys with a brand.
Greater Access to Instant Gratification
BNPL allows consumers to enjoy now, pay later. Increased spending power and a more seamless payment experience allows for consumers, particularly of the younger generation, to access products and even experiences (i.e. — travel purchases made through BNPL) without the price tag concern being an immediate weight on their decisions.
As we look to unravel and better understand these features that make BNPL so attractive to retailers and consumers alike, there are significant implications to consider when approaching a BNPL option. As such, Slalom will help you understand: Is BNPL right for you? Who are the key players in the BNPL market? How should you be engaging with them?
Competitive Landscape
Leaders in the Market
We did a deep dive into some of the leaders in the BNPL market, including Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, and Paypal. These companies’ origins range from Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America.
Service Differentiators
Several of these companies had some notable differentiators across their service offerings.
Instead of purchasing a product, trying it, returning it, and waiting for the refund, Klarna offers a service that lets customers try before they buy. Klarna’s “Pay in 30 days” allows customers to purchase a product with no upfront fees, try the product for 30 days then make a payment. The company advertises “keep what you love. Return the rest.” ¹⁸
As these platforms advance beyond pure payment services, some are moving in a competitive direction to encompass all facets of the retail business. Strategic partnerships represent an opportunity for larger BNPL platforms to seek expansive growth. Earlier this year, Paypal acquired the automated returns company Happy Returns to add their logistics services to its portfolio. Happy Returns tackles a part of the retail lifecycle that many other BNPL platforms lack. The company found that items purchased online are three to four times more likely to be returned versus purchases made in-store.¹⁹
The risk for consumers using BNPL is the same as any credit bearing consumer, there is the risk of purchasing products that they cannot afford. To discourage this, Affirm and Afterpay have built out rewards programs that incentivize the user with money off their purchases when they pay for their purchase in full or make payments on time.
Increased Global Regulation
It’s notable to mention the influence BNPL is having in China. China has a robust infrastructure for multi-brand marketplace app adoption enabling seamless transactions across retailers on a single platform. The platform use cases range from reading the news, ordering a rideshare and sharing photos to social media. Unlike the US where brands partner with fintech platforms such as Affirm, Klarna, etc. China’s super apps have built out their own in-app BNPL capabilities. China’s major BNPL players include WeChat’s FenFu, Ant’s Huabei, and JD.com’s Baitiao. These platforms serve as inspiration for rising global BNPL platforms and set the standard for a digital ecosystem. Despite consumer adoption, China has begun to crack down digital monopoly overall, starting with Ant’s restructure.²⁰ Ant’s regulation from Beijing in the last year demonstrates a governments’ attempt to regulate lender laws and consumer data.
Increased government regulation appears on the horizon for these emerging fintech platforms. Similar to China, attention to regulatory laws has already begun across Europe, Australia, and the UK. The EU is creating tighter rules around creditworthiness and trying to eliminate confusing financial jargon for the customer. Sweden specifically modified their existing Swedish Payment Services Act to encourage merchants to list payment options that do not result in customer debt. Australia has taken it a step further and eliminated the bans that BNPL platforms imposed on merchants to create surcharges for payment use.²¹ These regulations are taking place on behalf of the customer. While the US has been slower to adapt, Capitol Hill recently had a hearing on the conversation and debated the benefits and disadvantages of BNPL.²² As more traditional players like Paypal and Mastercard bring BNPL to the table, it will force Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay and others to rethink their strategies.
Enabling Capabilities
Retailers looking to introduce BNPL to their shopping ecosystem first need to optimize their internal capabilities and create a seamless checkout experience for customers. Before evaluating a BNPL platform, there are technological and digital components that require evaluation to build a secure and intuitive experience, as well as operational updates to ensure smooth transactions, returns processing and omnichannel experiences. While BNPL offers retailers opportunities to enjoy increased sales through lifts in conversion and average order values, those who gloss over the due diligence necessary to activate BNPL will be putting their customer experience and profitability at risk.
Technology and Digital Investments
BNPL requires an integration to your tech stack, which depending on your commerce ecosystem might simply entail an out-of-box bolt on or require a heavier lift with technical customization. Retailers need to be wary in offloading payment processing to a 3rd party and ensure that their solution has proper cybersecurity protection in place to mitigate fraud. Lastly, a harmonious UX is necessary for BNPL customers so that the cart to checkout funnel is user friendly, familiar and free from complicated loops.
Point of Sale (POS) Integration: Ideally, retailers seeking to offer BNPL will select a payment provider that can readily integrate into their POS system. Retailers with legacy POS systems, or a custom-built in-house solution, will need to explore their options for integration to determine the efforts and resources required to launch and maintain the service. In these situations, the initial investment and long-term upkeep will be noticeably more costly.
A proper integration between the POS system and the BNPL partner of choice will ensure the speedy data capture and mapping which is vital for a modern user experience, transaction processing, record keeping and order fulfillment. Retailers need to capture the complete customer profile on their own ecosystem, with exception of the customer’s credit or debit information, and pass the customer’s personal information through to the BNPL provider for payment processing. Then once the customer selects their payment terms option and submits their initial BNPL payment, the transaction is complete and the BNPL provider confirms receipt with the retailer to begin order processing and fulfillment as it would any other transaction. The retailer will then receive payment (transaction cost — BNPL fees) from their BNPL partner in the following few business days
Fraud Protection: With the rise of fraud in ecommerce outpacing the rise in ecommerce sales, retailers need to work with their BNPL partners to ensure their integrations are appropriately encrypted. While most, if not all, of the top BNPL providers assume the risk of chargebacks, retailers should not easily assume they are off the hook in the event of fraud. In the event a bad actor has completed an account takeover (ATO) or created a synthetic identity on behalf of a customer, the BNPL partner is financially liable, but the retailer’s reputation and customer trust are also on the line. This is increasingly prudent as a Card Not Study reported that 65% of customers would stop buying from a retailer if their account was compromised, and 30% would go as far as to tell their friends and families to also stop shopping with the retailer.
In today’s world of rampant data breaches, phishing scams and malware installations, retailers need to provide a safe commerce experience that demands data security and compliance across all partners, including BNPL. Measures such as two factor authentication (2FA), biometrics if using a mobile device, identify proofing, and behavioral analytics are all options to consider in the checkout journey to mitigate risk and protect the brand’s reputation.²³
UX: Cart abandonment plagues the ecommerce industry, as most online shoppers are simply browsing and do not have intent to buy. The Baymard Institute reported that upwards of 60% of online shoppers fall into this category, and BNPL is a great solution in attempt to persuade this customer segment to convert.²⁴ However, that means 40% of abandoned carts are valid lost opportunity cost to retailers, and this abandonment is often due to poor usability. To put it simply, retailers must deploy a frictionless BNPL experience to reap the benefits of its value proposition.
Minimize your BNPL cart abandonment by ensuring an easy user experience and start with three common UX principles²⁵:
- Remove duplicate data entry — upwards of 50% of users will abandon their cart if they have to re-enter their personal or credit card information. Avoid this issue by logically ordering the checkout funnel to capture a complete customer profile with shipping info, then prefill the information on the BNPL’s interface via integration.
- Speedy page load times — If it takes more than 3 seconds for a page to render, there is a 57% chance that the user will abandon their cart and end their session. It is mission critical that the BNPL redirect during the checkout flow loads in as little time as possible, ideally in less than a second.
- Mobile friendly design — Digital shopping is increasingly shifting mobile, which is problematic for sell-through given smaller screen sizes typically decrease the chances a customer will convert. Look to use BNPL providers that optimize their mobile experience by limiting copy to essential information, leverage accordions to organize information, and display the most important elements above the fold.
Operationalizing BNPL
It is important that retailers consider the impacts to their standard operating procedures (SOPs) and plan accordingly before activating their BNPL solution. This is especially true for retailers who have both a digital and brick and mortar presence as they need to account for various customer journey variations and the inability to refund the customer’s original form of payment. Retailers also need to consider BNPL’s impact to their omnichannel strategy and maintain a consistent experience for customers during transactions, and for employees fulfilling orders or interacting with customers. With nearly 75% of BNPL transactions originating from digital channels, these incremental sales introduce new complexities to already strained omnichannel ecosystems.²⁶
Customer Experience: Sales growth invites a rise in returns, particularly in the case of online orders, which are upwards of three times more likely to be returned than an in-store purchase. Retailers who have both digital and physical shopping experiences need to be even more wary as shoppers tend to ‘overbuy’ with online purchases they intend to return in a physical store. This matters greatly for BNPL customers as it places a new middleman between their experience with the retailer and their refund.
Store associates responsible for processing the merchandise return will not be able to refund customers on the spot — rather it is left to whatever feedback loop the retailer and BNPL provider have set in place. Once the BNPL processor is alerted that an item has been returned, they will assess if the customer needs a refund, or an adjustment to future payback balances.
Customers who return products typically expect that their refund process will be expedited with an in-store return, and in BNPL situations that is not the case, unless they are willing to accept a store credit. Retailers that do not address this set the stage for both a bad customer, and employee experience.
To avoid a negative experience, retailers should be clear in their return policies what BNPL customers are eligible and entitled too, as well as prepare their store associates to appropriately respond to situations that may arise from misaligned customer expectations.
Returns, Store Credit, and the Upsell Experience: Customer experience aside, this influx of returns will require retailers to consider how they will reverse their supply chain and execute resale strategies that minimize profit losses as BNPL firms will typically not reimburse the initial transaction fee charged to the merchant. Fortunately, both BNPL and retailers are incentivized to make store credit the most attractive option for customers in the event of a return, whether the merchandise is to be shipped to a warehouse or returned in store.
The physical, in store return for credit model remains intact as it exists today, presenting store associates an opportunity to connect with customers and find them a product that better suits their needs. Everyone is happy. The BNPL provider does not need to make any adjustments to customer payments, the retailer simply processes a merchandise return as usual, and the customer either leaves with new merchandise, or a store credit to shop with the retailer later.
In the event a customer intends to ship a return, the retailer and BNPL provider need to partner and simplify the return journey, reducing touchpoints and delays that introduce friction for the customer — eroding profit, loyalty, and retention. It is becoming increasingly common for retailers to take care of the customer before processing the return and to issue customers instant store credit or ship the replacement item right away — BNPL return transactions should follow suit. This experience can be triggered by allowing customers to initiate returns either through the retailer’s traditional channels, or within their BNPL account — a capability that could be unlocked with thoughtful integration, if not already native as it is with Klarna. While the physical return process makes everyone happy, this digital experience makes everyone a winner. The initial sale is preserved and most importantly, the customer is happy, more likely to both make a return purchase with the retailer and leverage the BNPL service again in the future.
BNPL and Omnichannel: Retailers cannot forget that while BNPL delivers a significant value proposition to their digital presence, customer expectations are increasingly supporting a ‘me-commerce’ mentality — forcing retailers to adjust. Adding a BNPL solution should not stop at just online orders as providers continuously improve their offerings for instore purchasing and can act as physical marketing avenues for retailers.
When retailers do their technology and digital assessments before implementing BNPL, it would be in their best interest to think from a customer 360 perspective and provide an omnichannel experience rather than a silo-ed digital experience.
How Can We Help?
Should we pursue BNPL?
While there are many factors to review, retailers should strongly consider assessing the opportunity for enabling BNPL capabilities for their customers. Slalom Consulting has a team of digital retail specialists that can help you navigate the BNPL journey while answering key strategic questions. Many of our retail clients start with a focus or objective they are looking to solve:
- “How do I increase my average cart size?”
- “How do I decrease cart abandonment / increase conversion rate?”
- “How can I acquire new customers?”
- “How can I drive repeat customers?
- “I see many of my competitors adopting BNPL, should I consider it too?”
Based on what you are trying to achieve, we can reframe and help answer the question, “Should we pursue buy now, pay later capabilities?” While this is a complex multi-layered question, the answer must be customer-centric. More specifically, will our customers adopt and find value in the ability to buy now and pay later? Or if you are looking to extend beyond its current customer base, will buy now, pay later make your products more accessible to new target segments?
Slalom’s extensive experience with customer research can give you insight into the likelihood of adoption and help identify key changes in your customer’s journey, allowing you to focus on enabling the capabilities that have the most impact for your customers. In addition, we can help uncover the costs and risks associated with BNPL to validate the business case for investing in BNPL. Estimating the impact to profit margins vs. increased sales can give a clear picture of what value BNPL could bring to the business. Understanding the value that BNPL brings to customers and the business, gives our clients the information they need to make smart, data-backed decisions on whether or not to pursue BNPL.
What technology do I need to enable BNPL?
If you validate that BNPL can bring value to your customers and your business, it’s important to conduct the due diligence needed to pick the platform that will work best with your existing technology while providing customers the capabilities they demand. Slalom has a strong background in assessing client’s current-state technology stacks to build a deep understanding of existing architecture and capability gaps. Leveraging our understanding of current-state, we can design future-state solutions that effectively integrate and perform with your technology. We lead our clients through buy/build/partner decisioning while conducting vendor assessments to help them determine the optimal investment in platforms and partners that lead to sustainable value delivered to their business and customers.
How do I implement and operationalize BNPL?
While selecting technology is a big piece of the puzzle, figuring out how to operationalize new tech and capabilities continues to be a major point of emphasis when setting our clients up for success. We help our clients build a structure with enabling people and processes to effectively drive adoption and continuously enhance the offering in order to meet changing customer needs. We empower our clients by developing a clear strategic roadmap that guides you through the activities and initiatives to reach your objectives.
We recognize that the journey to enabling BNPL is not one-size-fits-all. We’d love the opportunity to start the conversation to see how we can partner with you to and your business to unlock value for your customers through BNPL.
About Slalom
Slalom is a modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. In 40 markets around the world, Slalom’s teams have autonomy to move fast and do what’s right. They’re backed by seven regional innovation hubs, a global culture of collaboration, and partnerships with the world’s top technology providers. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Seattle, Slalom has organically grown to over 10,000 employees and is routinely named a best place to work. Our clients include more than half the Fortune 100 and a third of the Fortune 500 — along with startups, not-for-profits, and innovative organizations of all kinds. Learn more at slalom.com.
About the Authors
Sadichchha Adhikari
Sadichchha is a Customer Strategy Consultant with a passion for retail and a background in customer insights and analytics with a practical focus on consumer research. Sadichchha has authored a book, Beautiful People, on the business implications of inclusive beauty products and has worked several international Fortune 500 companies to help them hone in decision-making through the customer lens.
Andy Wegleitner
Specializing in customer and product strategy, Andy has led engagements to empower retail clients to solve complex digital strategic challenges. He works directly with customers and clients to enable organizations to visualize, optimize, and plan for their ideal future-state vision.
Maddie Goertzen
As a Customer Strategy Consultant, Maddie engages with clients to realize their strategic vision for their customer and employee experience. Her previous engagements span both the US and Chinese markets with a focus in retail and consumer goods.
Shaye Vineyard
Shaye is a proven digital strategist with strong expertise across the product lifecycle working on transformational products that make people’s lives easier. She has worked with many Fortune 500 clients, spanning across multiple industries, including retail, CPG, life sciences and manufacturing.
Logan Patterson
Logan is a Director in Slalom’s Global Customer & Digital Strategy team, a subject matter expert in Retail & Consumer Products, and has over a decade of experience in marketing, sales, and digital strategy & transformation.
References and Footnotes
¹ How Old-Style Buy Now, Pay Later Became Trendy ‘BNPL’. Bloomberg, 2021.
² Buy Now, Pay Later: The “New” Payments Trend Generating $100 Billion In Sales. Forbes, 2021.
³ Buy Now, Pay Later. Investopedia, 2021.
https://www.investopedia.com/buy-now-pay-later-5182291
⁴ Peloton Financing. Peloton, 2021.
https://www.onepeloton.com/financing
⁵ Buy Now, Pay Later: The “New” Payments Trend Generating $100 Billion In Sales. Forbes, 2021.
⁶ Why buy now pay later startups like Afterpay are focusing on physical retail. Modern Retail, 2021.
⁷ Buy-now-pay-later firms want to be shopping mall apps. Vogue Business, 2021.
https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/buy-now-pay-later-firms-want-to-be-shopping-mall-apps
⁸ What Mastercard’s New Buy Now, Pay Later’s Feature Means for Cardholders. Nerdwallet, 2021.
⁹ Retailers bid farewell to layaway, as shoppers embrace buy now, pay later options. CNBC, 2021.
¹⁰ Retailers bid farewell to layaway, as shoppers embrace buy now, pay later options. CNBC, 2021.
¹¹ Retailers bid farewell to layaway, as shoppers embrace buy now, pay later options. CNBC, 2021.
¹² How to improve the customer experience with buy now, pay later. Retail Dive, 2021.
¹³ The Klarna Business Model — How Does Klarna Work & Make Money. Productmint, 2021.
https://productmint.com/the-klarna-business-model-how-does-klarna-make-money/
¹⁴ Buy Now, Pay Later. Investopedia, 2021.
https://www.investopedia.com/buy-now-pay-later-5182291
¹⁵ Paypal Rates and Fees for Small Businesses. Nerd Wallet, 2021
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/paypal-fees#paypal's-payment-processing-fees
¹⁶ The Klarna Business Model — How Does Klarna Work & Make Money. Productmint, 2021.
https://productmint.com/the-klarna-business-model-how-does-klarna-make-money/
¹⁷ What You Need to Know About Adding An Affirm Loan Option To Your Site. Merchant Maverick, 2021.
https://www.merchantmaverick.com/what-is-affirm-and-what-does-it-offer/
¹⁸ Klarna Business Partner. Klarna, 2021.
https://www.klarna.com/us/business/partner-with-us
¹⁹ PayPal acquires return logistics business. Tech Crunch, 2021.
https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/13/paypal-acquires-returns-logistics-business-happy-returns/
²⁰ China forces Jack Ma’s Ant Group to restructure. BBC, 2021.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56728038
²¹ How regulators worldwide aim to rein in buy now/ pay later. American Banker, 2021
²² Congress debates pros and cons of buy now, pay later. Retail Dive, 2021.
https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/congress-debates-pros-and-cons-of-bnpl/609395/
²³ Many merchants are unprepared for account takeovers. Card Not Present, 2021.
²⁴ Research Study: Cart Abandonment Rate. Baymard Institute, 2021.
https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
²⁵ Cart Abandonment Statistics. Sleeknote, 2021.
https://sleeknote.com/blog/cart-abandonment-statistics#1
²⁶ Buy Now, Pay Later market confronts the complexity in product returns. American Banker, 2021.
