Out of the 2,000 US consumers polled, 25% used buy now pay later (BNPL) loans to purchase groceries
The number of Americans using buy now pay later (BNPL) loans to purchase groceries has increased to 25%, up from 14% in 2024, according to an April survey by Lending Tree.
It is a worrisome indicator of households struggling to afford basic food items amid inflation, high interest rates and ongoing economic uncertainty linked to the rollout and rollback of US tariffs.
Out of the 2,000 US consumers surveyed, 41% admitted to making a late BNPL payment in the past year, compared to 34% the year before. Additionally, 60% of BNPL users reported juggling multiple loans at once.
The trend is becoming widespread
Recently, over 60% of Coachella’s general admission tickets priced at $599 were bought using BNPL payments. Even the food delivery app DoorDash has begun offering such payment modes.