Consumer Edge Data Reveals Buy Now, Pay Later Adoption Nears Record High as Financial Strain Deepens Among Lower-Income Households

Q2 2026 Transaction Data Shows Buy Now, Pay Later Momentum with Increasing Economic Strain Across Consumer Segments

NEW YORK, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Edge, the leading provider of global consumer data-driven insights, released its Q2 2026 Buy Now, Pay Later ("BNPL") Trends report on installment-based payment adoption. The data shows that overall BNPL adoption remained near a record high in the second quarter. Two segments exhibited momentum: lower-income households earning under $40,000 annually and families with children.

In Q2, 15 percent of active cardholders used a BNPL service, financing at least one purchase through an installment plan. That share grew by 1.23 percentage points from a year earlier – close to the 1.27-percentage point increase recorded in Q1. But while overall BNPL adoption continues to rise at a steady pace, the consumer segments fueling that growth have shifted.

Households with children illustrate that shift most clearly. Approximately 19 percent of shoppers with children used BNPL in Q2, compared with roughly 12.5 percent of those without children – a gap that has persisted for more than a year. Moreover, year-over-year BNPL adoption growth accelerated among households with children in Q2, while it slowed (but still grew at a robust rate year-over-year) among households without children.

A comparable divide emerges in the income data. The under-$40,000 annual income tier – already the leader in BNPL penetration – was the only income group to accelerate during the quarter, with its year-over-year adoption gain rising to 1.3 percentage points. At the other end of the spectrum, the over $150,000 income tier remained a clear outlier, with 13 percent penetration and the slowest adoption growth of any income band at 0.9 percentage points, down from Q1.

Additional insights from the report include:

• Renters are considerably more likely to use BNPL than homeowners, but the gap narrowed in Q2 – About 23 percent of renters used BNPL in Q2, compared to roughly 13 percent for homeowners – a 10-point difference that reflects renters' greater reliance on alternative financing tools, given their generally lower savings and more limited access to traditional credit. Still, renters' year-over-year gains slowed to approximately 1.5 percentage points in Q2, down from more than 1.8 points in Q1.
• BNPL usage still skews younger, though growth moderated across most age groups – Penetration ranges from approximately 21.5 percent among 25- to 34-year-olds to roughly 7 percent among those over 65. The 35- to 44-year-old cohort, which led adoption growth in Q1, recorded the sharpest deceleration of any age group in Q2. Even so, age groups typically facing the greatest housing, childcare and household expenses continue to post relatively stronger growth than older cohorts.
• The South and Sunbelt show the deepest and fastest-growing BNPL adoption – Texas led BNPL adoption among the large states with approximately 18.5 percent penetration and nearly 1.5 points of year-over-year growth, followed by Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Tennessee. New Mexico and Nevada experienced the fastest growth of any state at approximately 1.75 points, while the upper Midwest and Plains lagged, led by Minnesota at 8.5 percent penetration.
• Consumers continue to distribute BNPL usage across more providers – The share of BNPL users transacting with a single financing company fell to 56.5 percent in Q2, down from approximately 66 percent in 2021, reflecting both evolving consumer habits and the growing number of retailers partnering with multiple providers.

"The story this quarter isn't that BNPL usage is broad – that's been true for a while. It's that growth is increasingly concentrated among families and lower-income households facing the greatest financial pressure," said Michael Gunther, SVP, Research & Market Intelligence, at Consumer Edge. "That's an important signal for reading the health of the consumer right now. The topline adoption numbers remain steady, but the underlying data tells a more cautious story as we enter the second half of 2026."

Consumer Edge's full Q2 2026 BNPL Trends report can be found here.

About Consumer Edge
Consumer Edge ("CE") is a leading data and insights-as-a-service (IaaS) company specializing in the global consumer, B2B, and healthcare economies. Founded in 2009 by CEO Bill Pecoriello, CE delivers real-time, transaction-based intelligence enriched by deep industry expertise. Its solutions equip corporate and investment leaders with best-in-class tools for strategic decision-making, offering granular insights and benchmarking across products, brands, sub-industries, and industries. CE's unique capabilities turn complex data into clear, actionable insights that drive smarter, faster decisions.

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SOURCE Consumer Edge