I don’t know if we have enough information. I agree with you that BNPL purchases are typically bad for the consumer, but I don’t necessarily think any to call people greedy in a difficult economy. Sometimes, people end up in shitty situations, trying to keep their life together, even when they can’t afford to.
Was the volume items purchased greater than before or are prices just completely out of control? The article doesn’t indicate that it accounts for inflation. Inflation was about 3% and BNLPL was up 4%.
What about the types of items that were purchased? It doesn’t actually say what types of items were used to BNPL transactions so we don’t know if it was household needs or unnecessary consumption.
drmoose@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Except many BNPL options are 0% interest rate. I just renovated an apartment with ikea stuff and they offered me 0% interest rate over 1 year - it makes no sense to not take this offer.
Many companies would gladly lose 4% (avg inflation) to guarantee a sale especially when dipping on loans are basically impossible today for the average consumer.
Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de 3 days ago
Until you miss a payment and they hit you with the fine for missing a payment.
THEY HAVE TO MAKE MONEY!
drmoose@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Just don’t miss payments then. They make money from sales cut not from fees. E.g. Amazon will take 6% loss to get a sale giving Klarna 3% and losing 3% to inflation.
Looking at Klarna for example it’s 5$ late fee and then it gets reported to relevant authorities (credit, collections etc.) and they just block you.
It’s not that tricky like payday loans or similar. The issue at hand is really just people buying more than they can afford because they are not charged instantly.
MDCCCLV@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
They’re still in the acquire customers and market share phase and the number of providers is increasing. Increase in fees and predatory aspects comes later in the enshittification phase.
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 23 hours ago
Don’t forget that a lot of them do bank on the fact that people don’t pay back on time and then the over-the-top interest rates hit them.
So the less financially savvy or intelligent, Or just the unlucky. Are subsidizing the deals for the rest of us.
But while they’re in these early phases, if you can take advantage of them, do s*** sucks enough. Might as well get something out of it.
booly@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Yeah but it’s pretty nice to be able to take advantage of a promo deal as long as it’s not a sticky long term relationship. Some people in this thread are talking about a reward system of 20% cash back on what you put on BNPL, and 0% interest, as some kind of Paypal promo going on during Black Friday.
If you take the deal as a one time thing, it’s a great deal. They hope that you might get used to using the service next time it’s not such a great deal, but if they don’t have a way to lock you in, then just take the money and run.
See, for example, the glorious year of MoviePass setting its own money on fire. People got great deals on movie tickets, and then the company went bankrupt and didn’t keep their customers.