Sezzle Launches BNPL Partnership With Outdoor Retailer Backcountry

Backcountry, an online outdoor equipment and cycling retailer, has launched a partnership with Sezzle.

The collaboration lets customers take advantage of Sezzle’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing when shopping Backcountry’s online and in-store brands, including Steep & Cheap, Competitive Cyclist and MotoSport, the companies said Monday (Nov. 11).

“Sezzle stood out as the partner that could truly help us to meet the needs of our diverse customer base,” Kevin Lenau, Backcountry’s chief financial officer, said in a news release.

“The product’s ability to approve a broader spectrum of customers, paired with their mission to empower consumers financially through credit-building history and responsible lending practices, made Sezzle the clear choice for us,” he added. “We’re excited to offer our customers this seamless, flexible payment option.”

According to the release, Sezzle’s BNPL platform will let Backcountry customers split their purchases into four interest-free payments over six weeks. The retailer says it switched to Sezzle from one of its competitors, in part because of its “ability to approve a wider range of customer profiles” and its “responsible approach to lending.”

Sezzle last week reported quarterly earnings showing upticks in its overall customer base to 2.7 million, while active subscribers for its Premium and Anywhere offerings jumped by 319,000 from last year’s at this time to end at 529,000 in the most recent quarter.

Meanwhile, CEO Charlie Youakim told analysts during an earnings call that the company’s “partnership with WebBank has simplified our business, allowing us to focus on a unified product construct, which aids profitability. The on-demand product has led to a 30% increase in activations, reducing entry friction for consumers and serving as a bridge to subscription services.”

Sezzle saw its stock jump last week following the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. The new administration, PYMNTS wrote, could alter the course of regulatory action for the BNPL sector.

For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) hopes to extend the same disclosure practices found in the credit card sector to BNPL companies.

A lawsuit by the Financial Technology Association contended that the disclosure mandates are “ill-fitted” for BNPL products, and that complying with periodic statement issuance — as applied to credit cards — is “infeasible for BNPL products.”

The group also argued there’d be a need to embrace a “significant buildout of technology and processes” to satisfy requirements tied to billing error disputes.