Buy now pay later platform gaining popularity: 68% customer from outside tier 1 city, says ZestMoney

ZestMoney, India's leading artificial intelligence driven 'buy now pay later' platform, observed a huge growth in customer base and demand in 2020. The EMI financing platform on Thursday released its annual report outlining how Indian customers used ZestMoney amid a pandemic. It witnessed 20% increase in its women customer base in 2020, according to report.

There has been strong demand of buy now pay later solutions among Indian customers, it said. "Despite the challenges arising due to the pandemic, ZestMoney served customers across 18,921 pin codes last year," the company saved.

Edtech, high end smartphones, large appliances, electric vehicles, fashion, and travel were some of the categories that witnessed highest traction last year. On the ZestMoney platform, women preferred to splurge on Edtech while men opted for fashion, the report said. Due to the demand for professional upskilling courses, the Edtech category saw the highest average ticket size for transactions.

According to ZestMoney, the average Indian consumer is 34-year old. The company said 68% of their customers are based outside tier I cities, hinting at the massive demand coming from tier II and III markets.

Customers chose Fridays to purchases high-end premium products such as smartphones, laptops, large appliances, and fitness watches, ZestMoney observed.

"The average ticket size for 'buy now pay later' war higher last year and it played a crucial role in reviving consumer demand, especially for large ticket products," the company. 'Buy now pay later' has been gaining popularity in India amid COVID-19 pandemic due to its flexibility to spread cost.

Commenting on the trend, Lizzie Chapman, chief executive officer and co-founder ZestMoney, "We saw an increased trend of digitally savvy customers who prefer transparent financing options like 'buy now pay later' over unfair and hidden fees associated with traditional products. The category is poised for massive growth this year as the consumer habit is here to stay. Consumers are clearly loving the all-digital experience for credit. We strongly feel India will emerge as the largest market for buy now pay later and will leapfrog credit cards entirely.”

ZestMoney 'buy now pay later' option is available over 15,000 stores across the country. "We will ramp this up to 400,000 in 2021. We continue to be available on the checkout of the largest e-commerce websites and that drove adoption of buy now pay later as people took to online shopping in a big way," Chapman added.