Amazon has joined forces with buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Affirm, integrating the solution into Amazon Pay. The partnership sees Affirm become the first BNPL provider to be incorporated into Amazon’s checkout service.
Amazon Pay merchants based in the United States can now provide their customers with the option to ‘buy now, pay later’ – ready for the incoming holiday season.
The two companies first announced their partnership in 2021. Now, the collaboration means that Amazon Pay customers can choose bi-weekly or bi-monthly payments for purchases over $50 starting at 0% APR. What’s more, the technology requires no further integration as a stand-alone installment option, instead it will be added to the Amazon Pay button.
The increasing influence of BNPL
BNPL has emerged as one of the leading new publishers in affiliate marketing in recent years, booming in multiple regions around the world. Popular with millennials and Gen Z, and controversial amongst financial watchdogs, BNPL has caused a splash in the performance marketing space, and high-profile partnerships like this suggest it’s not disappearing anytime soon.
Tough economic conditions lead to tightening belts – a new wave of savvy shoppers are now growing throughout the market, and BNPL has proven to be a popular choice of payment amongst this crowd. However, critics have advised consumers to watch their spending with this particular technology and avoid accumulating excessive debt.
For merchants, BNPL has shown to have lucrative benefits, increasing basket conversions, customer retention, and even customer acquisition. Some commentators consider new publisher verticals like BNPL to be integral to performance marketing’s evolution from a lower-funnel strategy to a full-funnel approach. According to merchants using Affirm, the solution has helped increase conversion rates by 60%.
As this publisher model’s influence increases, partnerships like these are ones to keep an eye on.
