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Buy Now, Pay Later: Impact of Installment Payments on Customer Purchases (Maesen & Ang, 2024)
Description
Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where we dive into cutting-edge research that’s changing the way we understand the world. Today’s episode is all about a phenomenon reshaping modern retail: Buy Now, Pay Later: Impact of Installment Payments on Customer Purchases, published in the prestigious Journal of Marketing. This isn’t just any journal—it’s part of the elite FT50 list, recognized globally as one of the top 50 business journals maintained by the Financial Times.
In this groundbreaking study, authors Stijn Maesen and Dionysius Ang peel back the layers of how BNPL installment plans influence customer spending habits. Using real-world data from a leading U.S. retailer and rigorous experimental methods, they uncover that BNPL not only encourages customers to shop more often but also to spend more. The key? By easing perceived financial constraints, BNPL empowers customers to feel in control of their budgets, making purchases feel more manageable.
But here’s where it gets even more fascinating—the research shows that the impact is most pronounced among smaller-basket shoppers and those who previously leaned on credit cards. It’s a revelation with significant implications for retailers, policymakers, and anyone curious about the psychological drivers behind consumer behavior.
As we explore these insights, here’s a question to ponder: How do innovations like BNPL reshape not just our spending habits, but our very relationship with money?
A special thanks to Stijn Maesen, Dionysius Ang, and the team at Journal of Marketing for sharing this vital research, and to SAGE Publications for making it available. If you’re as intrigued as we are, make sure to subscribe to Revise and Resubmit on Spotify, and check out our YouTube channel, Weekend Researcher. We’re also streaming on Amazon Prime Music and Apple Podcasts.
Let’s dive deeper into research that rewrites the rules—together.
Reference
Maesen, S., & Ang, D. (2024). Buy Now, Pay Later: Impact of Installment Payments on Customer Purchases. Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429241282414
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