- Home
- Blog
- Ecommerce Shopping Statistics – BNPL Adoption In The States
Ecommerce Shopping Statistics – BNPL Adoption In The States
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services have seen rapid growth in the last few years as shoppers look to alternative spending options to make their money go further. Though 2021 was the biggest for growth in users, the number of people using BNPL is expected to keep growing year-on-year.
BNPL options are attractive to consumers, and their market penetration is growing. But how is this impacting smaller businesses? Using data from BuiltWith, the Add People team has analysed the adoption of BNPL software in each state, adoption trends and the market growth of the most popular brands.
To keep in mind… 🧠
- Websites with BNPL options are more popular in states that rank higher for overall debt and lower for wages
- BNPL adoption is growing, with 23% growth in 2023-24
- Klarna is the most popular software with smaller businesses, followed closely by American-owned Afterpay
- Despite being the most downloaded, Klarna and Afterpay have the lowest retention rates at 59.5% and 33.48% respectively
1. Why BNPL? - BNPL Statistics for Businesses
BNPL options are evidence of consumer interest in flexible payments beyond traditional methods like credit cards, offering less risky credit that is most commonly used for online shopping where purchase totals aren’t massively high. For ecommerce businesses in particular, BNPL options offer a number of opportunities.
For example, Emarketer found that 60% of BNPL users say using BNPL apps helped them discover new brands or products, giving smaller businesses an opportunity to attract new customers through a different channel without any additional marketing efforts.
However, there is, of course, the issue of over-borrowing when it comes to deferred payments, with some concerned about the impact of BNPL on consumers, particularly those in younger age groups. A survey by the Federal Reserve System found that 56% of BNPL users said they used that method because it was the only way they could afford the purchase and BNPL spending per person has been consistently growing for the past few years.
Millennials make up the largest user base in America, and half of Gen Z are expected to use BNPL by the end of 2025. By meeting these consumers where they are, businesses can ensure customer acquisition as spending power for this age group grows.
2. The states with the highest BNPL use
By analysing data for websites earning between $10,000 and $100,000 per month in the US, the overall adoption rate of BNPL is 6.95% of all sites, with businesses in the South appearing to implement this software more often than in other parts of the country.
3. Top states for BNPL adoption
Mississippi - 15.2% BNPL
At 15.2% adoption, Mississippi is the BNPL capital of the US, coming head and shoulders above the rest. Despite having the lowest cost of living ranking of any state, Mississippi has the highest poverty rate, with 20% of people living in poverty. The economy ranking of the state is also one of the lowest, with employment and job growth some of the worst in the country.
This could be contributing to a higher deferred payment culture as smaller businesses in the area aim to meet the needs of people who are looking to make their money go further. While this could signal an opportunity for Mississippi businesses, residents could also be in more distinct danger of over-borrowing by using these platforms.
Georgia - 10.65% BNPL
According to US News, Georgia ranks higher than many of the other top states for BNPL, placing 26th for cost of living, 15th for economy and 25th for opportunity. Their median household income is very close to the national average. However, the Federal Reserve reports that household debt is slightly higher than the national average, which could contribute to the higher use of BNPL.
Louisiana - 10.56% BNPL
Despite ranking lower than average for personal household debt, Louisiana has a high poverty rate at 18.6% and a median household income almost $20k lower than the national average.
Rather than payment flexibility, this suggests that BNPL is becoming more popular in this area with people unable to afford items without it and could pose a similar risk of over-borrowing and late payments.
4. BNPL adoption over time
Though the largest period of growth was between 2020 and 2021, where the number of sites using BNPL grew by 253%, the number of businesses adding the software to their sites has grown consistently every year.
Another large jump of 23% growth between 2023-24 shows interest among smaller businesses is not yet slowing down distinctly. Already in 2025, almost 1,000 websites have added BNPL software to their site.
While some reports show overall growth slowing, this data reveals that small business owners are a key market for BNPL as websites continue to add the software in their thousands.
Looking at the breakdown of the top BNPL providers, the earlier pandemic-period growth was mainly contributed by Afterpay, which was added to over 20,000 sites between 2020 and 2021.
Klarna, on the other hand, enjoyed a major boost in 2023-24, almost doubling the number of websites they were working with.
BNPL Retention by Software
| Shopify | Wix | Squarespace | Woocommerce | Overall Retention Rate | |
| Klarna | 56.00% | 46.18% | 69.27% | 72.85% | 59.50% |
| Afterpay | 66.81% | 13.69% | 0.35% | 23.42% | 33.48% |
| Sezzle | 74.63% | 23.81% | 27.78% | 51.26% | 73.38% |
| Affirm | 69.89% | 60.27% | 41.03% | 81.27% | 71.47% |
While Klarna and Afterpay have been added to websites far more frequently than Sezzle and Affirm, their retention rate is much lower. This could mean that many businesses have used more popular providers to test out BNPL on their sites and decided not to continue using it.
Sezzle and Affirm’s higher retention rates could suggest that people discovering these brands have a better understanding of BNPL and have made a more conscious decision when choosing a provider.
Retention rates on Shopify and Woocommerce sites are higher than Wix and Squarespace. This is most likely due to these hosting platforms costing more and typically being used by more established businesses.
5. Most popular BNPL provider in each state
Klarna is the most popular BNPL provider, being the preferred option in 26 states. Afterpay ranks second, dominating 15 states.
Despite being of American origin, Sezzle and Affirm are the least popular with businesses in the study, with Affirm only coming out on top in Alaska.
However, Affirm is the official BNPL partner of Shopify in the US (and from February 2025, the UK and Canada as well), which could explain some of the deficit for the app’s presence on sites as many users may instead be using Shopify’s ‘Shop Pay Installments’, a service that operates within Shopify but is provided by Affirm.
Since this data shows the apps added to sites, this demonstrates the awareness and brand confidence of ecommerce business owners around BNPL.
Why is Klarna More Popular?
Though originally from Europe, Klarna has taken the US by storm, leading the way in 30 states and making up 68.91% of pay later options on US sites, according to Builtwith.
Though its offering isn’t distinctly different from its competitors, its adoption is more recent, with the bulk of businesses adding it to their site in 2024 as opposed to Afterpay which had its biggest year for downloads in 2021.
6. What can small businesses learn from BNPL trends?
BNPL is consistently growing among ecommerce businesses with plenty of benefits for small businesses but it’s important to be aware of your customer base when considering if it’s the right choice for your business.
BNPL apps can make your brand more discoverable which can be useful for tapping into new markets without investing too much into new marketing channels. However, small businesses shouldn’t neglect other, more established marketing channels where audience reach can be tailored and returns can be tracked more effectively.
BNPL software adoption is highest in states with lower average wages and low economic growth, meaning businesses in these areas could be using it to support cash flow while protecting themselves from nonpayments.
With most platforms accepting liability for nonpayment, this helps the business owner but offering these types of payments in these areas could encourage over-borrowing which may affect customer loyalty and may not provide consistent growth for your business.
However, BNPL also encourages basket growth when online shopping, which could help introduce your audience to new products. For this reason, it’s important to think about the setup of your checkout process when adding BNPL to your site.