BNPL at checkout is a conversion lever, not just a payment option
The case for buy now, pay later has never been purely about giving shoppers a way to pay. At its core, BNPL is a checkout conversion tool, and the numbers make that clear. RBC Capital Markets puts the conversion uplift from offering a BNPL option at 20% to 30%, with average order values climbing 30% to 50%. For any merchant running A/B tests on checkout elements, those are figures worth taking seriously.
What this means in practice is that a shopper who would have completed a 100-euro order without BNPL may comfortably stretch to 175 or 200 euros when installments are available. The payment structure aligns with pay cycles, which removes the budget friction that would otherwise cause hesitation or cart abandonment at the point of decision. The UX implication is straightforward: presenting BNPL options clearly and early in the checkout flow, not buried in small print, is what turns a browse into a buy.
Dutch and Belgian shoppers make this especially relevant. Both markets have consumers who are historically cautious about revolving credit and credit cards. BNPL providers such as Klarna, which already has deep roots in the Benelux region, offer a familiar and trusted alternative. Younger shoppers in the 18 to 35 bracket, the segment most likely to avoid credit cards entirely, represent a significant addressable audience that BNPL can unlock.
The operational argument is also worth noting. Unlike layaway or custom financing programmes, BNPL integrates at the checkout page level with minimal merchant overhead. The provider handles the credit risk; the merchant collects the full order value upfront. This makes it a relatively low-friction addition to the checkout stack.
The practical takeaway for merchants: if BNPL is already in your payment mix, review where and how it is surfaced in the checkout flow. Visibility on the product page and in the cart summary, not only at the final payment step, is where the conversion gains are made.
Source: cnbc.com
