Is ‘Buying Now, Paying Later’ the Future of Industry?
Soon, you may be able to find Afterpay in unexpected places.
Afterpay’s success as a Buy Now, Pay Later method of purchase skyrocketed during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. With online shopping serving as the foundation of the retail economy last year, many consumers opted to sign up for delayed payment plans, also including Klarna and Zip Pay. But will this payment scheme expand into other industries?
Mr Yum, a hospitality tech platform founded in Australia, has recently partnered with Afterpay to allow restaurant-goers to complete payment of their orders weeks after visiting the venue. This collaboration aims to bring Buy Now, Pay Later technology further into the modern landscape, and alleviate the stress of consumers when selecting menu items based on their budget. This option is a world-first for hospitality.
Remote ordering and online menus, which the Mr Yum service provides to venues, have seen a notable rise in popularity. This transformation has been due to the hospitality industry seeking new methods to maintain social distancing guidelines and avoid customers sharing hand-held materials. The mobile ordering process offers multiple forms of payment already, so Mr Yum’s inclusion of popular BNPL services as an alternate option appears to be a natural progression.
As for the rest of the hospitality industry and other services, Afterpay and its competitors may not be far away in their integration. The initial focus on deferring large purchases into more affordable divisions appears to be becoming broader, with most providers not requiring a minimum spend of any kind. Furthermore, this increased availability may encourage consumers to make larger purchases in-person, a move highly beneficial to industries forced to close during lockdown periods.
Although many buyers still prefer to pay upfront, the ever-growing popularity of BNPL schemes is undeniable. Afterpay, Klarna, and Zip have all noted significant success in the online shopping realm, so their race to find success in tangible retailers and industries will likely see a much wider spread of their availability in the coming years.
By Adele Szaters
