Brick-and-Mortar Shoppers Struggle to Find BNPL Options

As consumers look for ways to manage their spending, in-store shoppers are unlikely to have the option to pay using buy now, pay later (BNPL), even as the payment method catches on digitally.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Divided, Not Conquered: Acquirer and Merchant Confusion Clouds Split-Payments Landscape” drew from a September survey of executives from 100 merchants to better understand the split-payment plan landscape.

Supplemental research from the report found that 35% of merchants offer BNPL online during checkout, while only about half of that share do so during checkout in the physical store. Similarly, consumers are twice as likely to be told about BNPL options before checkout online as they are to be informed via signage in physical stores.

Many consumers want in-store BNPL options. In a separate study, PYMNTS Intelligence found that about 33% of consumers expressed their desire for BNPL to be more widely available in brick-and-mortar establishments.

Technology providers are looking to meet this demand.

Celerant Technology announced last week that it now enables the users of its eCommerce platform to offer their customers BNPL options when checking out in-store as well as online, having implemented additional integration functionalities with Sezzle to allow these options at stores’ point of sale.

“In recognizing the challenging financial landscape retailers face, Celerant understands the necessity of seamless shopping experiences and encouraging purchases, both online or in-store,” Celerant President and CEO Ian Goldman said in a news release. “Our retailers can now offer the same seamless payment experience to customers whether they shop online or visit brick-and-mortar stores.”

Similarly, Shopify Chief Financial Officer Jeff Hoffmeister noted on the company’s last earnings call earlier this month that the commerce platform is taking offerings such as the option to pay in installments “from our core online business and adding them to the offline,” unifying the digital and physical experience.

“We’re going to be able to migrate more and more functionality to point of sale, and so over time, the attach rate and some the opportunities overall are going to increase,” Hoffmeister said at the time. “The point of sale, the retail piece, for us is primarily a payments piece.”

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