Consumer experts worried as millions of Americans buy their groceries in installments
May 8, 2023, 11:02 PM | Updated: May 10, 2023, 10:03 am
SALT LAKE CITY — When you think of “Buy Now, Pay Later,” chances are you’ll think of splurging – say a fancy vacation package, a new big screen TV, maybe a new camera or even presents under the tree during the holidays. But more and more, people are putting their basic human needs in installments.
“That was really the most surprising thing about our latest survey,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst.
LendingTree recently found that 27% of “Buy Now, Pay Later” users say they use these loans as a bridge to their next paycheck. And 21% of “Buy Now, Pay Later” users say they have used one of the loans to buy groceries.
Buy now, pay later loans aren't just for big ticket purchases anymore. A staggering number of people are now leaning on them for basic necessities, like groceries. We look for solutions, tonight on @KSL5TV News at 10PM. pic.twitter.com/mLrrfxlWiH
— Get Gephardt (@KSLGephardt) May 9, 2023
“It’s a whole other thing because groceries are such a fundamental thing,” Schulz said. “They’re not a luxury.”
Schulz said “Buy Now Pay Later” can be a useful tool to make purchases, but with one in five Americans using it — he urges caution.
“The biggest pitfall for ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ is how easy they are to get,” he said. “It makes it seem easy to overspend. It makes it easy to potentially mismanage.”
