Commentary
Gen Zers are leaving the workplace in high numbers. At the very same time, they are falling deeper into debt.
You’re undoubtedly familiar with “buy now, pay later” (BNPL), a type of short-term financing that allows a consumer to purchase something immediately and pay for it later. The BNPL model has soared in popularity in recent years, and 39 percent of Americans have tried BNPL at least once.
In 2020, according to the California Department of Financial Protection (DFPI), 91 percent of consumer loans issued by the state were BNPL loans.
The financial flexibility offered is indeed appealing—perhaps a little too appealing. In the United States, members of Generation Z, also known as the TikTok generation, are the biggest users of BNPL services. This should come as little surprise. BNPL came of age when online shopping was just gaining steam; no generation is as active online as Gen Z. These digital natives spend an average of 2 hours and 43 minutes online every single day; that works out at more than three full days per month. That’s a lot of browsing and swiping….