How buy now, pay later brands like Affirm and Klarna are changing consumer habits

Name: How buy now, pay later brands like Affirm and Klarna are changing consumer habits
Uploaded: 2021-11-19T16:50:14.000Z
Duration: 11 min 17 s
Description: Consumers have flocked to "buy now, pay later" businesses in recent years as a way to make big purchases more manageable. In fact, these new services have become big competition for traditional store credit cards. Their rapid growth is raising questions about the benefits and risks for consumers, as well as the lack of regulation.

Consumers have flocked to "buy now, pay later" businesses in recent years as a way to make big purchases more manageable. In fact, these new services have become big competition for traditional store credit cards. Their rapid growth is raising questions about the benefits and risks for consumers, as well as the lack of regulation.

11:17

Fri, Nov 19 202111:50 AM EST

Jordan Smith

Kate Rooney, CNBC Business News
You don’t need us to tell you that everything is getting more expensive.

In October, prices on some of the most common goods rose 6.2% from a year ago. That includes apparel, where prices have risen nearly 4% since October 2020, And electronics like televisions, which have seen prices jump 10% over the same period.

With these rising costs, consumers are looking to stretch their money that much further… and maybe put off that big bill a little longer.

Enter: "buy now, pay later."

Brands like Affirm and Klarna have amassed millions of customers and thousands of partnerships with companies like Target, Amazon and more.

But what does the rapid growth of buy now, pay later services mean for e-commerce and the consumer? Watch the video above to learn more.