Shoppers value offers like free shipping and discounts — but not as much as the chance to pay for their purchases via interest-free installments. A survey of more than 1,000 U.S. credit card holders conducted by Splitit revealed that more than half (54%) preferred installment payments over free shipping. Nearly as many, 53%, chose installments over a 10% discount offer.
High-income consumers (those with annual salaries of $100,000 to $150,000) were the most enthusiastic about installment plans, with 60% selecting this payment method. The survey also revealed that four in 10 credit card users would increase the size of their purchase by at least 10% if they were offered an interest-free installment payment option.
The survey also revealed data about U.S. credit card users, including:
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• Millennials are the second-largest credit card user group, at 37%, behind people aged 65 and up (42%);
• Store cards are the most popular installment-based payment method, at 50%, followed by PayPal Credit (42%);
• The primary reasons consumers like installments is for budgeting purposes (54%); affordability (40%); building credit (4%); and zero interest (2%);
• High-income consumers have the highest percentage of credit card usage, at 61%, while only 31% of low-income consumers (those making less than $25,000 annually) use credit cards; and
• Males are more likely to say yes when asked if they use a credit card than females, 34% to 29.5%.
