Picture a small online furniture shop with one best-selling side table. Tons of people add it to their cart, but then a lot of them just leave. The price is reasonable but it’s enough to make people stop and think.
Now, say the owner adds a buy now, pay later option, and those same shoppers see “4 payments of $65” under the price. Suddenly, that table feels a lot easier to say yes to.
BNPL can be complicated – there are fees, providers to pick from, and a new setup process. Shoppers love it, and for good reason. In this guide, we’ll go over what it costs, which provider might fit your store, how to turn it on in Shopify, and how to get people to use it.
BNPL isn’t niche. Adobe found that during the 2025 holiday season, shoppers spent $20 billion online using BNPL, which was 9.8% more than the year before. BNPL purchases topped $1 billion on Cyber Monday.
Smartphones accounted for 82.2% of BNPL purchases, so it’s likely that most of your customers are likely doing this on their phone. Asking them to go find their wallet is an easy way to lose them.
Adobe’s survey also showed people were most likely to use BNPL for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture. If you sell any of those, you should probably be offering it already.
When a customer pays with BNPL, the provider takes a cut of the sale, and it’s usually more than you’d pay on a regular credit card. But fees are often negotiable, especially once you’re doing decent volume.
Let’s say you’re fulfilling a $150 order at 6% plus 30 cents that costs you $9.30 in fees. The provider will pay you the full amount up front, and they’re the ones chasing the customer for the rest of the payments. If someone misses one, you still get paid. If your products are on the pricier side, extra sales and higher price points can offset that pricing.
Each provider has its own strengths, so you’ll need to think about your price points and who’s shopping with you.
Start with one provider. Stacking BNPL options in your checkout looks cluttered, and all it does is add more fees to keep track of.
First, make sure you’re eligible. You’ll need Shopify Payments and Shop Pay turned on. Your business has to be in the US, Canada, or the UK, selling in that country’s currency. Affirm also looks over your store (and if your site is password protected or you sell certain restricted products, they may pause your account.)
Once you’re all set, follow Shopify’s activation steps:
Small thing to know before you start pulling reports. When you export orders to a CSV, BNPL orders are labeled “Shopify Payments,” not “Shop Pay Installments.” It’s an easy one to miss.
In Shopify, go to Settings > Payments and look for additional payment methods, or grab the provider’s official app from the Shopify App Store.
After you apply as a merchant and get approved, you can turn on their messaging for your site. Place a test order first to make sure it’s working correctly. Go through the product page, the checkout, and the confirmation email yourself so you know exactly what your customers will see.
BNPL often only shows up at the last step of checkout. By then, a lot of shoppers have already left.
Mention that you have BNPL where people will really notice it:
Before you start with BNPL, write down your average order value, conversion rate, and cart abandonment rate. Let it run for a full quarter before you judge it. A week or two won’t give you much information.
You’ll also want to watch your fees and returns. If BNPL buyers send more items back, that eats into what you’re making. Keep track of those customers to see if they come back to buy again. A good loyalty program can help turn that first big purchase into a repeat customer.
Adding BNPL to your store doesn’t take long, and your customers are already used to paying this way. Choose one provider, set it up, and make sure people can see it before they get to the last step of checkout. Then keep an eye on your numbers and adjust from there.
Need a hand getting BNPL in front of more shoppers? Schedule a call with us and we’ll take a look at your checkout together.