Intensifying materialism through buy-now pay-later (BNPL): examining the dark sides
International Journal of Bank Marketing
ISSN: 0265-2323
Article publication date: 10 August 2023
Issue publication date: 22 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) services can put consumers into a debt trap by encouraging consumers to buy things they cannot afford, leading to a culture of materialism and consumerism. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how materialism can influence BNPL use and impulsive and compulsive buying. Additionally, the authors examine if BNPL use and impulsive buying mediate between materialism and compulsive buying.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 556 participants were collected through a structured questionnaire via an online survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using SMART PLS 4 was employed to analyze the relationship between variables and to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Materialism impact BNPL use and increases the inclination for impulse buying, precipitating compulsive buying behavior. However, BNPL use does not directly influence compulsive buying. The mediating relationship was identified, where BNPL use, and impulsive buying mediate the relationship between materialism and compulsive buying.
Practical implications
BNPL use alone does not inevitably lead to compulsive buying. The only way BNPL use could lead to compulsive buying is through impulsive buying. Therefore, BNPL service providers need to foster responsible buying habits due to the rise in impulsive buying, which, if not controlled, could lead to a debt trap resulting from compulsive buying.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the limited BNPL literature because there is speculation, but the scarcity of empirical evidence to substantiate, how materialism influences BNPL use and increases the inclination for impulse buying, precipitating compulsive buying behavior.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Since acceptance of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliation(s): Vijay Amrit Raj is at the Institute of Management Sciences, University of Lucknow, India and Sahil Singh Jasrotia is at the Department of Marketing, Management Development Institute, Murshidabad, India.
Citation
Raj, V.A., Jasrotia, S.S. and Rai, S.S. (2024), "Intensifying materialism through buy-now pay-later (BNPL): examining the dark sides", International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 94-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-08-2022-0343
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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