Majority Will Rely On Financing For Black-Friday/Cyber-Monday Despite Discounts

A Deloitte consumer survey conducted in October 2024 found that millennials are the most likely to use credit cards or Buy Now, Pay Later schemes for Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases. In contrast, only 55 percent of Baby Boomers will likely use these financing methods. The survey revealed that credit cards are the most popular financing method, with 53 percent of respondents using them. Despite planning to stretch their budgets, average per-consumer spending is expected to increase to $650 during the period between Thanksgiving Thursday and Cyber Monday. This spending expectation has not been affected by global economic crises, with spending increasing at a compound growth rate of almost ten percent per year since 2019. Annual credit card payments have surpassed 50 billion transactions in 2022, while Buy Now, Pay Later schemes have become increasingly popular. According to Worldpay's 2024 Global Payments Report, BNPL was used for five percent of domestic e-commerce payments in the US, up three percentage points from 2020. Buy Now, Pay Later schemes are especially popular in Sweden, Germany, and Norway, with e-commerce purchase shares of 21, 21, and 15 percent, respectively. The popularity of BNPL in Sweden is not surprising, given that Klarna, a premier BNPL provider, was founded in Stockholm in 2005. The survey's findings suggest that consumers are willing to take on debt to take advantage of discounts offered by e-commerce platforms and retailers.