Samsung and Splitit Team to Promote In-Store BNPL

Samsung is bringing installment payments to its digital wallet in collaboration with Splitit.

The new feature for the Samsung Wallet lets users pay over with their existing credit at in-store points of sale, according to a Thursday (July 24) news release. It marks the first time an installment payment solution has been added to the Samsung Wallet, the companies said in the release.

“In-store shopping still accounts for the majority of U.S. consumer spending, yet installment payments have remained largely confined to eCommerce,” Splitit CEO Nandan Sheth said in the announcement.

“Our partnership marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of payments and customer experience—giving in-store shoppers a seamless way to pay directly from their phones, while helping merchants improve conversion, increase basket sizes, and meet rising expectations at the point of sale.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence from late last year in the wake of Black Friday found that installment payments — otherwise known as buy-now, pay later (BNPL) — had hit something of a brick wall when it comes to brick-and-mortar shopping.

During that hectic weekend, BNPL purchases accounted for 7.4% of in-store transactions, compared to 10.1% for online sales.

“Consumer sentiment hints at the fact that BNPL is facing headwinds in store,” PYMNTS wrote, adding that the research showed that if BNPL options were not available, 21% of consumers in-store would make the purchase anyway, while 13.6% would opt for a cheaper product.

“Conversely, only a respective 16.6% and 9.9% of online shoppers said the same,” PYMNTS added. “Meanwhile, 12% of digital shoppers said they’d outright not make the purchase, compared to 7.9% in-store.”

More recently, PYMNTS teamed with Splitit on the report “Managing Unplanned Expenses: How The Pay Later Economy Fits Consumer Needs.”

The study found that in the prior year, more than a third of consumers had spent at least $250 on an emergency expense, with the same share making a comparable impulse purchase within the last three months.

“Because these expenses are unexpected and often exceed readily available cash, the payment method becomes particularly important,” PYMNTS wrote.

In most cases, consumers turned to credit, particularly credit cards, which were used for 35% of impulse buys and 33% of emergency expenses.

“Within the realm of credit card usage for these large, unplanned purchases, a significant trend emerges: the appeal of installment plans,” the report added. “Rather than simply revolving the balance, a substantial share of consumers opt to pay off these purchases over time using a set number of installments. While 48% of consumers who used a credit card for their latest impulse purchase chose to pay it off in full, 30% opted for installment plans.”