Men are outspending women on Klarna

Women who use Klarna's buy now pay later service spend less than men, while the average age of the alternative payment method is growing in the UK, new data shows.

The data compiled by 'buy now, pay later' giant Klarna shows that on average women spend £76 per order, compared to £98 spent by men.

Klarna says this busts a popular misconception that its female consumers spend more than its male consumers.

Buy now, pay later has become an increasingly popular form of alternative payment both online and on the high street. 

Critics, however, say that buy now, pay later encourages users to get into debt who can't afford to.

The data also show that when it comes to early repayments 23 per cent of women make their Klarna payments more than nine days early, compared with 19 per cent of men. 

Further findings include that, on average, it takes just 38 days for Klarna consumers to completely repay purchases across Klarna Pay (which gives consumers 30 days to pay) and Pay in 3 (which allows consumers to pay in 3 installments spread over 60 days).

The average age of a Klarna consumer is also nudging up, which is now 34 years old, up from 33 in 2020, according to the data.

It also shows that the fastest-growing retail segments paid for by buy now, pay later were electronics, health & beauty and automotive products.

Further findings were that the default rate for women was well below 0.5 per cent, which was almost half that of men. 

“Last year, 46 per cent of British credit card holders paid interest on their Christmas shopping but with Klarna, you only ever pay the original price of the purchase,” said Alex Marsh, Head of Klarna UK.

“What this data shows is that women are simply smarter with their than money than men, especially when credit cards have increased their interest rates to record-breaking levels.”