‘All of us are going to pay’: 30% of Americans are taking out BNPL loans to pay for groceries, and it’s probably going to cost you

In the check-out line of your local grocery store, there’s a nearly one-in-three chance someone there has used an app like Klarna or Affirm to finance their purchase of produce, milk, and eggs at some point. Their use of buy now, pay later could mean your groceries are about to cost more, economists have found.

A study from the Washington University in St. Louis, which will be published in the next issue of the Management Science journal, found that as more consumers turn to buy now, pay later to purchase their necessities, retailers may actually increase prices and slash inventory as a result. 

These types of purchases have become especially appealing for smaller, but necessary shopping trips. A Lending Tree survey of more than 6,000 U.S. consumers published in July found 29% of Americans self-report using buy now, pay later loans for groceries, nearly double the 14% from two years ago.

It’s all part of a bigger trend of buy now, pay later becoming an increasingly appealing option for consumers as they face an affordability crisis of increasing healthcare and childcare costs, as well as stubbornly high inflation, with 91.5 million Americans using apps like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay to finance purchases. Purchases with these........

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