A Study on Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Adoption among Genera-tion Z Consumers in Bangalore: A Consumer Durables Perspective

Abstract

The rapid digitalization of consumer finance has significantly altered purchasing behaviors among younger consumers, particularly in emerging economies such as India. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services have emerged as a prominent fintech innovation, offering short-term credit at the point of sale and reshaping con-sumption patterns for consumer durable goods. This study investigates BNPL adoption among Generation Z consumers in Bangalore, India’s leading technology and innovation hub, using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework as the underlying theoretical lens. The research adopts a quantitative, cross-sectional design based on primary survey data collected from 397 Generation Z respondents aged 18-26 years residing in the Bangalore metropolitan area. A structured questionnaire employing validated Likert-scale items was used to measure key constructs, including perceived benefits and social influence (stimuli), psycho-logical and emotional responses such as attitude toward BNPL, happiness, negative emotions, and self-control (organism), and impulsive buying behavior (response).

The findings reveal that perceived benefits and social influence significantly shape positive attitudes and emotional states toward BNPL usage, which in turn stimulate impulsive buying behavior in the consumer du-rables segment. A notable paradox emerges wherein frequent BNPL users exhibit relatively lower self-control despite displaying impulsive buying tendencies comparable to less frequent users. The study further conducts a comparative analysis of five BNPL service providers operating in Bangalore, highlighting substantial mar-ket concentration in favor of a single dominant provider alongside a fragmented competitive landscape among secondary players. By integrating consumer psychology, fintech adoption, and competitive analysis, this research contributes to the growing literature on BNPL usage in emerging markets. The study offers ac-tionable insights for BNPL providers, consumer durables firms, and policymakers, emphasizing the need for responsible lending practices and targeted financial literacy initiatives for young consumers.