Lingering inflation isn’t stopping shoppers from shelling out on new stuff—they’re just getting creative about financing their lifestyles.
That’s according to buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions provider Afterpay, which said Gen Z and millennial usership has grown 22 percent year over year. The group, which recently published its spring-summer 2024 trend report, said younger generations of consumers are increasingly using the e-commerce platform for budgeting, as well as accruing rewards for on-time payments.
While credit cards also offer rewards, Afterpay said shoppers have gravitated to the service because it allows them to avoid accruing high-interest debt and gives them flexible, manageable repayment terms.
What’s more, users are branching out when it comes to category spend—beyond high-volume sectors like fashion and beauty, the report said the fastest growing areas are travel, entertainment, home and garden. This expansion suggests that consumers are using BNPL more for everyday expenses than they did previously.
Not surprisingly, mobile commerce is also gaining ground as the shopping method of choice, with Afterpay’s mobile transactions up 6 percent from 2023 as users continue to prioritize convenience.
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“Over the past two-years, consumers have faced a 40-year inflationary high, yet the economy continues to moderately grow,” Afterpay analysts wrote, noting that U.S. Census records show overall spending at retail up 0.6 percent year over year. According to the group’s report, this proves “consumer demand is there—albeit with a new approach on spending and budgeting.”
While shoppers are indeed embracing BNPL for more than just shopping—hotels and accommodations booking with Afterpay was up 34x last year’s volume, and BNPL spend on travel tickets grew by a whopping 79 percent—the group’s bread and butter remains fashion purchases.
With festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach, as well as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, giving shoppers a reason to dress up, maximalist styling is trending. According to Afterpay, purchases of statement-making, feather-adorned cowboy hats are up 74 percent from the year prior, while Western-style fringed skirts have grown by 9 percent. Meanwhile, sales of beaded dresses (reminiscent of Swift’s on-stage attire) grew 47 percent.
Long, opulent pearl necklaces saw 374 percent more interest than the year-ago period, while large sunglasses, a staple of the aughts and 2010s, are again en vogue based on their 54-percent year-over-year growth. Oversized blazers (up 122 percent) along with drop-waist silhouettes, tank tops, moto jackets, gilded fringe and polka dots are all trending, suggesting that “The opulence of the 20s and boldness of the 80s are coming back with a modern take,” according to analysts.
“Consumers are donning outfits to show off and show out this season as a form of escapism,” they added.
And as the summer Olympic games draw nearer, preppy, sporty styling is gaining traction. “Outfits will consist of a relaxed approach to mix and match,” Afterpay’s report said, pointing to products like button-downs (up 18 percent), track pants (up 8 percent), striped T-shirts (up 8 percent), quarter-zip sweaters (up 65 percent) and white sneakers (up 11 percent). Tennis skirts, too, grew by 8 percent year over year, perhaps influenced by Zendaya’s much-anticipated “Challengers” tennis flick raking in $15 million at the box office during its first weekend.
When it comes to home furnishings, it’s “all about the curves,” analysts said, with “harsh lines… giving way to softer curved shapes in interiors.” Mid-century modern styling has dominated the space over the past year, from rounded upholstered chairs (up 67 percent) to circular ottomans (up 169 percent), round tables (up 90 percent), and curved sofas (up 207 percent). Rounding out the selection—pun intended—are accoutrements like scalloped catchall trays and curvy mirrors, as well as S-curve sofas and wavy picture frames.