Sezzle Debuts Budgeting and Checkout Tools Amid Low Consumer Confidence

Sezzle has introduced features it says are designed to help customers weather increased financial pressure.

“With record-low consumer confidence — the Conference Board’s index recently plunged to its lowest level since May 2020 amid fears of tariffs and recession — the current climate makes budgeting tools more essential than ever,” Sezzle said in a news release Monday (June 30).

Among the new features are Sezzle Balance, designed to simplify the repayment process for consumers through a pre-loadable digital wallet.

There are two additional products in beta: “Express Checkout,” described as a “streamlined flow that reduces friction for returning shoppers,” and Browser Extension, a tool that automatically prompts shoppers to earn Sezzle Spend and save with available coupons.

“When shoppers see real savings, they come back — it’s that simple,” said Charlie Youakim, Sezzle Chairman and CEO. “That’s why we’re focused on delivering value at every touchpoint, whether it’s through smarter discovery, seamless checkout, or transparent pricing. The more we help consumers feel in control and save money, the more they trust and choose Sezzle as their go-to way to shop.”

PYMNTS wrote about Sezzle — and contemporaries such as Affirm and Klarna — last month in a report on the evolving business model of buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers as they move beyond the “pay in 4” construct.

“In recent months, new announcements surrounding flexible credentials and BNPL provider-issued cards have been instrumental in broadening short term credit’s reach,” that report said. “PYMNTS has found that 46% of Gen Z and 47% of millennials have used BNPL within the past year. More than 40% of consumers that we’ve surveyed have said that if BNPL options were not offered, they simply elect not to make a purchase.”

The early appeal of BNPL, a decade ago, may have rested with small-dollar transactions and lower-income consumers. But now, 60% of Americans who use the payment method for convenience make at least $100,000 a year. The merchant base is broadening as well.

“We tend to focus more towards enterprise-level merchants now, although we do have a mid-size funnel as well … but it is definitely a focus towards the larger side of the equation,” Youakim said in Sezzle’s most recent earnings report.

He also pointed to new verticals, such as grocery, where BNPL adoption has lagged, as areas of recent traction.