Say hello to the Millennials and Generation Zs, two distinctly unique generational cohorts that make up 23% and 30% of the world’s population respectively. Defined as those born between 1981 and 1996, millennials are aged between 25 to 40 this year, whereas Gen Zs were born after 1996, and are 24 years old or younger.

Their sheer strength in numbers has disrupted the way businesses operate, market, and even the products and services that are being offered. The Buy Now Pay Later trend is no exception, and in fact, is highly popular among the Millennials and Gen Zs for a multitude of reasons.

As the saying goes: “Never judge a book by its cover”. Millennials and Gen Zs - despite being two different generations - are distinct from their older counterparts in the ways they shop, interact with brands, and more importantly, their perception of money. The spending habits of both age groups are shaped by various factors, including their personal alignment with a brand’s values, as well as a mobile-first and seamless retail experience from end to end.

For starters, Gen Zs tend to be more financially savvy than millennials when they were the same age and are interested in saving up for rainy days. They are also more likely to maximise the value of every dollar spent, whereas 66% of millennials are invested in the entire shopping experience and are more likely to pay for a great customer experience compared to Gen Zs. In this aspect, BNPL services like hoolah seamlessly integrate themselves into their shopping experience - contributing to its explosive growth set to reach US$33.6 billion globally by 2027.

The allure of BNPL

The benefits of BNPL are aplenty and span across all age groups but millennials and Gen Zs in particular have displayed a profound preference compared to the older generations. A survey reflected that 15% of millennials and almost 6% of Gen Zs used BNPL as their preferred in-store payment method, compared to only 3% of their older counterparts.

For e-commerce purchases, more than 26% of millennials and nearly 11% of Gen Z consumers have financed their online purchases with BNPL, compared to only 7.5% of the older generations.

BNPLs like hoolah allow customers to split their purchase into three monthly interest-free repayments at no additional fees. Therein lies the major draw of BNPL - financial flexibility. BNPL provides younger consumers with greater flexibility in payments, plus it is a great alternative to traditional credit solutions. With BNPL, consumers can opt to pay with their debit cards instead of credit cards. In fact, hoolah has noted a major shift from credit cards to debit card payment, with 75% of hoolah transactions made with debit cards in March 2021, compared to 55% in January 2020.

With the impact of the pandemic stretching on, many are cautious about their spending habits - even the millennials who are in their prime with higher purchasing power are managing their monthly budget and spending with more scrutiny. Whether it’s to maximise their personal cash flow, or investing in quality products to last them for a longer time, BNPL is becoming a crucial element of their shopping and payment experience. For the Gen Zs who have just freshly entered the workforce, are on the hunt for their first job, or still pursuing their further education, BNPL comes in handy as a tool to invest in their future, for example, being able to afford a laptop for work or educational purposes.

The key to the future of retail

Understanding millennials and Gen Zs’ purchasing behaviour is key to the flourishing future of retail, and BNPL is becoming a fundamental and crucial aspect of the shopping experience that meets their high expectations. Retailers looking to tap into this growing base of consumers should consider integrating BNPL capabilities to offer the seamless, convenient and flexible payment solution that these consumer segments look for.

At the forefront of empowering retailers to win over tech-savvy consumers, hoolah’s omnichannel BNPL approach provides a consistent payment experience - whether you’re shopping online at your favourite website or returning to brick and mortar shops in the malls.

How to hoolah - Photo credits: hoolah

With hoolah, customers can maximise their monthly cash flow, by paying one third of their purchase upfront, leading to bigger baskets and lower cart abandonment rate. In particular, hoolah’s merchant partner, TTRacing, saw a 30% increase in basket size since their partnership in October 2020, with 75% of TTRacing purchases via hoolah made using debit cards. hoolah’s flexible payment method has empowered a younger group of customers – a demographic that is traditionally not qualified for credit cards. TTRacing was thus able to grow a new customer base of loyal customers, lowering their cost of acquisition significantly and achieving a greater return on investment.

Whether you’re a millennial, Gen Z, or just someone who wants to better maximise your personal cash flow while investing in your future, try out hoolah’s BNPL to get the things you want and need today.

For more information, log onto hoolah.co or download the hoolah mobile app on Apple Store and Google Play Store.