The rising cost of groceries is pushing more consumers to use Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services for necessities such as groceries, according to new data from Adobe Analytics.
In January and February, BNPL's share of online purchases jumped 10 percent year-over-year, while revenue fell by 19 percent. This suggests more consumers are using the services for smaller purchases. In the meantime, groceries share of BNPL purchases skyrocketed 40 percent.
That compares to a 8 percent increase for apparel and a 14 percent drop for electronics.
“The rise of Buy Now Pay Later usage for groceries tells us that consumers are likely making bigger purchases online to take advantage of special promotions and stock up on staples, thus managing living expenses in more flexible ways,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
Overall, ecommerce demand is holding up despite economic uncertainty. In 2022, consumers spent $86.8 billion on groceries on ecommerce platforms, up 10.8 percent year-over-year.
“E-commerce demand has remained resilient in an uncertain economic environment, driven in part by lasting pandemic habits where consumers had no choice but to leverage online food and home furnishing shopping services,” Pandya said.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
