Many stores accept Afterpay as it is one of the most popular ways to buy stuff now and pay later, just like Klarna.
Whether you shop online or offline, with buy now pay later (BNPL) services, you can buy products and pay for them in installments. This is really handy for those times that you don’t want to part with a large amount of cash at once. If you are on a budget, they can be really useful.
Globally, BNPL accounted for about 2.1% of all eCommerce transactions in 2020. So, it’s a really popular way for consumers to pay for stuff.
Along with Klarna (review), Afterpay is one of the most popular buy now pay later apps.
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What is Afterpay?
Afterpay is a buy now, pay later company. BNPL is a type of short-term financing that consumers can use to make purchases and then pay for them at a later date. BNPL is sometimes called a “point of sale installment loan.”
With BNPL financing, you typically pay the first installment immediately. This is often known as the down payment. Then, you pay the rest of the cost in installments over time.
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Compared to traditional forms of financing, such as a credit card, BNPL is often easier to get approved for. And, it’s usually interest free.
Another reason why consumers often choose this type of financing is that BNPL plans do not usually affect a person’s credit score. That being said, late payments or failing to pay can negatively impact your credit score.
Afterpay is one of the most popular BNPL plans out there.
Afterpay has more than 5 million active shoppers in the U.S.
It’s well-reviewed, with an almost 5-star rating on both the Google Play Store and the App Store. It has more than 130,000 reviews on the Google Play store and more than 720,000 reviews on the App store.
With it, you can split the cost of your purchases into 4 installments.
Here’s what Afterpay has to offer:
- Pay for your order in 4 payments, every 2 weeks. Pay the first installment when you make your purchase, and then pay the rest off over 6 weeks.
- No interest.
- Available in-store and online.
Here’s where you can get the app:
Stores that Take Afterpay
Here are 35 stores that accept Afterpay.
- Adidas – Casual and athletic clothing, shoes, sneakers, and accessories
- American Crew – Men’s grooming products, such as hair, skincare, beard, and shaving products, and cologne.
- American Eagle – Men’s clothing, women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories.
- Anthropologie – Women’s clothing, accessories, and shoes, and homeware.
- ASOS – Men’s clothing, women’s clothing, shoes, accessories, and beauty products.
- Aveda – Haircare and skincare products.
- Bed, Bath & Beyond – Bedding, bath, cookware, and home décor.
- Chairish – Vintage and contemporary furniture, décor, and art.
- DSW – Shoes, boots, sandals, handbags, and accessories.
- FragranceX.com – Discount men’s and women’s fragrance products.
- GAP – Casual women’s, men’s, maternity, kids’, and baby clothes.
- Crew – Clothes, shoes, and accessories for women, men, and kids.
- Kerastase – Luxury, professional haircare products.
- Kiehl’s – Skincare and haircare products.
- Levi’s – Jeans, denim jackets, and clothing.
- NARS – Makeup and skincare products.
- New Balance – Athletic footwear and fitness apparel.
- Nordstrom – Luxury department store offering women’s clothing, men’s clothing, kids’ clothing, beauty products, homeware, and more.
- Olay – Skincare products.
- Old Navy – Men’s, women’s, women’s plus, kids’, and baby clothing, and maternity wear.
- Pier 1 – Home décor, indoor furniture, and patio furniture.
- Puma – Casual and athletic clothing, shoes, sneakers, and accessories.
- Ray Ban – Sunglasses and eyeglasses.
- Reebok – Casual and athletic clothing, shoes, sneakers, and accessories.
- Rite Aid – Drugstore offering medications, health, beauty, and personal care products.
- SHEIN – Women’s, men’s, kids’, and plus size clothing, and beauty products.
- Sketchers – Lifestyle and athletic footwear and apparel for men, women, and kids.
- Sunglass Hut – Men’s sunglasses, women’s sunglasses, and prescription sunglasses.
- The Container Store – Storage and organization products and gift packaging, like gift tags and wrapping paper.
- The RealReal – Pre-owned bags, jewelry, and clothing from designers like Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Prada.
- Ulta Beauty – Makeup, haircare, and skincare.
- Uncommon Goods – Gifts, jewelry, home décor, clothing, and other unique pieces made by designers, artisans, and artists from around the world.
- Urban Outfitters – Clothing, home décor, beauty, books, and vinyl.
- Yankee Candle – Candles, air fresheners, and home fragrance.
- Zappos – Shoes, sneakers, boots, and clothing.
Be Mindful of Using BNPL Financing
In many ways, BNPL is great. I have used this type of financing myself. I bought a laptop on Amazon and paid for it in 5 installments. While I had the money to pay for it upfront, these installments were interest-free and there was no credit check required either, so I thought, why not? The money is better in my bank!
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So, I opted to pay for the laptop in installments. I got to pay off the laptop over 5 months.
A lot of people use BNPL because sometimes they just don’t have the cash to pay for an item all at once, or they’re budgeting and they want to keep the cash in their bank account for as long as they can.
Another great aspect of BNPL loans is that it’s possible to get approved for BNPL financing even if you don’t qualify for other loan options due to a low credit score.
And, using BNPL doesn’t affect your credit score either.
Sadly, there are some things to be aware of when using this form of financing.
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) opened an inquiry into buy now, pay later credit.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said:
- “Buy now, pay later is the new version of the old layaway plan, but with modern, faster twists where the consumer gets the product immediately but gets the debt immediately too. We have ordered Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip to submit information so that we can report to the public about industry practices and risks.”
The main concern with apps like ZIP, Klarna and of courtse Afterpay, is that consumers risk accumulating debt. It’s easy to get these loans, so consumers can end up spending more money than anticipated.
It’s important when using Afterpay, and any other BNPL app or company, to keep track of the number of BNPL plans that you have running.
If you have multiple purchases on multiple payment schedules with different companies, it can be hard to keep track of when payments are scheduled.
So, write it down. Be aware of how much you owe and when payments are due.
The last thing you would want to do is not have enough money to pay your installments as this could result in late fees from the app and/or charges from your bank.
It’s important to be aware of how often you are using buy now, pay later financing when you purchase things. That way, you’ll find it easier to budget.
Paying with Afterpay: Summary
With Afterpay, you can pay for your purchases of things like makeup, clothes, sneakers, and furniture, in 4 installments, rather than having to part with the money all at once.
Just make sure to not go overboard with using BNPL financing. A great rule of thumb in situations like this is to ask yourself, “do I have enough money to pay cash for this purchase right now?“. If you can’t, then you might want to reconsider that purchase.
And as you can see, there are a lot of stores near you and online that accept Afterpay. So you do have a lot of options!
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