STOCKS | Study Says BNPL Grocery Use May Push Up Prices for Everyone

A new study says retailers are raising sticker prices as more consumers use buy now, pay later services, in part to widen margins and offset merchant fees. According to Sina Finance, the research found that about one in three shoppers in grocery checkout lines has used apps such as Klarna or Affirm to pay in installments for groceries and other essentials. A LendingTree survey of more than 6,000 U.S. consumers in July found that 29% said they had used buy now, pay later loans to buy groceries, nearly double the 14% share from two years earlier. The study, led by Panos Kouvelis of Washington University in St. Louis, is scheduled to appear in the next issue of Management Science. The researchers said retailers may raise prices and cut inventory because of the merchant fees charged on each buy now, pay later transaction. Kouvelis told Fortune that retailers accepting installment payments raise prices and that everyone ends up paying for the business model.