Most shoppers in the MENA region prefer to use BNPL for essential purchases rather than discretionary spending, a new Tabby survey has revealed.
According to the research, which analysed the buying habits of 2,500 shoppers, 77% plan to use BNPL options for essential purchases in 2024. This includes education, groceries and medical clinics whereas discretionary spending includes fashion, beauty and high-end services among its main categories.
While discretionary BNPL spending continues to grow, the findings show it is not the dominant category for this type of spending. In fact, data from Tabby shows that first-time BNPL purchases are twice as likely to be essential rather than discretionary with essential purchases such as education and medical expenses occurring twice as frequently.
For many shoppers, BNPL offers an affordable and accessible way to purchase high-value essentials such as household appliances and insurance. While credit/debit card use is still the most prevalent payment method in the MENA region, accounting for 42% of e-commerce transactions it was recently revealed that BNPL has grown in popularity, to take a 23% share of e-commerce sales. It is expected that this will continue to make inroads on cash which now sits at 35% of total transactions.
