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BNPL's Effect on Grade 12 Spending Habits

This research paper examines the impact of 'Buy Now, Pay Later' (BNPL) services on the spending attitudes of Grade 12 students at Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales. It highlights that frequent use of BNPL is linked to impulsive spending behaviors, particularly influenced by financial literacy, peer pressure, and social media advertisements. The findings suggest that students who frequently use BNPL exhibit more permissive and impulsive spending attitudes compared to those who use it rarely or not at all.

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143 views7 pages

BNPL's Effect on Grade 12 Spending Habits

This research paper examines the impact of 'Buy Now, Pay Later' (BNPL) services on the spending attitudes of Grade 12 students at Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales. It highlights that frequent use of BNPL is linked to impulsive spending behaviors, particularly influenced by financial literacy, peer pressure, and social media advertisements. The findings suggest that students who frequently use BNPL exhibit more permissive and impulsive spending attitudes compared to those who use it rarely or not at all.

Uploaded by

anicajadetiozon
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A.

Gonzales
Nueve de Pebrero St. Brgy, Mauway, Mandaluyong City
Senior High School Department

The Impact of “Buy Now, Pay Later” on the Spending Attitudes of Grade 12
Students in Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales

A Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of


Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales
Mandaluyong City

In Partial Fulfillment to the requirements for Practical


Research II Subject for the School Year 2025-2026

RESEARCHERS:
Falcon, John Kouie B.
Banico, Shaira Shin Y.
Bernales, Angela A.
Bracero, Jeane Ann P.
12 – ABM 2

Submitted to:
Ms. Alliah Marie M. Manansala
Research Teacher
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The increasing use of "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) services among students has
raised questions about whether more frequent use leads to more impulsive spending. While
BNPL provides convenience and flexibility, research suggests that its frequent use is aligned
with higher risk of overspending and impulse-driven purchases. A key concern is how the
way financial literacy influences the use of BNPL services. A study by Widiastuti and
Sumastuti (2025) found that among Indonesian students, frequent use of PayLater services
was significantly linked to impulsive spending with lower financial literacy. Their findings
highlight that while BNPL can provide short-term purchasing power, students without strong
financial knowledge are more likely to engage in unplanned spending.

However, financial knowledge alone may not fully prevent impulsive behavior. Ainy et
al. (2025) explored what they called "BNPL paradox" among financially literate Gen-Z
consumers and discovered that even students with strong financial knowledge engaged in
impulsive spending when they frequently used BNPL. Their findings emphasized that
materialistic values directly shaped students' tendency to engage in impulsive buying, and
that frequent BNPL use intensifies this link. In their study, perceived benefits such as
convenience, affordability, and purchase flexibility making students more prone to unplanned
purchases despite their knowledge of financial consequences.

Recent evidence has shown how both the accessibility and repeated use of BNPL
services can encourage impulsive spending, particularly among students in online shopping
contexts. Keil and Burg (2023) examined how the availability of BNPL influences consumer
behavior. Their experimental study revealed that when individuals were exposed to BNPL
advertisements, they became 17% more likely to make purchases than those who were not,
with many later struggling to meet payment deadlines. This finding shows how simple
offering BNPL as a payment option can make impulse buying more likely because it lessens
the feeling of paying right away. Furthermore, Leslie-Piper et al. (2025) explore the role of
BNPL use frequency in shaping consumer behavior. Using a large survey, they found that
students who frequently relied on BNPL engaged more often in social media-driven
purchases, luxury consumption, and higher indebtedness. Their results highlight how
repeated BNPL use can build habits of unplanned spending, especially in online
environments where students are constantly exposed to shopping prompts.
Studies have indicated that both individual characteristics and external influences
significantly affect impulsive buying behaviors among BNPL users. Juita et al. (2024) provide
evidence through a dataset developed under the stimulus-organism-response framework.
Their analysis indicates that promotional offers and social influence act as external stimuli,
while individual traits such as self-control and materialism serve as internal factors shaping
behaviors. This highlights how both personal and environmental factors interact with BNPL
frequency to encourage impulsive spending. By comparing BNPL users and non-users, they
found that frequent users are particularly sensitive to these external factors, which
strengthens the connection between BNPL usage and impulsive buying.

Peer influence and social media advertisements significantly impact students'


tendency to prioritize wants over needs when using Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services.
Studies show that these social factors amplify materialistic values and consumerist attitudes,
which encourage impulsive and consumptive spending behaviors among adolescents. The
desire to keep up with peers fosters materialism leads to impulsive purchases via BNPL
options. Raj et al. (2023) emphasize that BNPL exacerbates this effect by making it easier
for students to acquire goods that satisfy their desires immediately rather than waiting or
budgeting, thereby intensifying materialistic values and impulsive spending. Consequently,
peer influence drives students to align their consumption patterns with those of their social
groups, often prioritizing wants over essential needs.

Moreover, social media plays a crucial role by exposing students to targeted


advertisements that reinforce consumerist tendencies. Rodriguez et al. (2024) highlight that
repeated exposure to such advertisements cultivates attitudes favoring wants instead of
needs. This influence is amplified when combined with peer pressure on social media
platforms, where students observe and imitate their peers' spending behaviors, often
facilitated by BNPL schemes. Thus, social media advertisements act as powerful motivators
for students to engage in non-essential purchases.

Additionally, Soong et al. (2024) support this by identifying social influence—


especially from peers and social media—as a significant driver of young adults’ intentions to
use BNPL services. The study’s findings suggest that students are likely to prioritize
discretionary spending encouraged by their online social environment, reinforcing the
preference for wants over needs in shopping behaviors. Similarly, Anaya et al. (2024) also
provide insights into how peer influence shapes high school students’ buying behavior. They
argue that adolescents’ spending decisions are heavily affected by their social circles, which
can lead to increased purchasing of non-essential items, especially when payment options
like BNPL reduce financial barriers.

Lastly, Nur and Azzahra (2023) link the behavioral intention to use PayLater apps to
consumptive behavior, where financial literacy moderates this relationship. Their study
implies that lacking financial literacy can exacerbate the tendency to prioritize wants,
particularly under strong peer and social media influence through BNPL platforms.

Research consistently shows that BNPL reduces the psychological barrier of upfront
payment, making consumers more willing to spend. Beatty and Liao (2025) found that
installment-based options like BNPL significantly increase both purchase likelihood and
transaction value, suggesting that frequent BNPL users may develop more permissive
spending attitudes compared to those who rarely or never use it. Demographic and lifestyle
factors further contribute to these differences. Nowak et al. (2025) showed that younger
consumers, women, and those with lower access to traditional credit are more likely to adopt
BNPL, and their attitudes toward spending reflect higher openness to debt. In Indonesia,
Rumondor and Mananeke (2020) demonstrated that lifestyle preferences, technology use,
and peer influence strongly predict BNPL adoption, indicating that frequent users’ spending
attitudes are shaped not only by the payment method itself but also by their social and
cultural context. Financial wellbeing outcomes also differ across user groups. Ali et al. (2025)
found that frequent BNPL users, particularly those under 25, report lower levels of financial
control and budgeting discipline compared to rare or non-users, raising concerns about
reduced financial responsibility. At the same time, some users treat BNPL as a budgeting
tool when used sparingly, which suggests that rare users may retain more cautious and
disciplined spending attitudes. Psychological dimensions further explain why differences in
spending attitudes exist. Prasetyo et al. (2025) highlighted that students with stronger social
comparison tendencies and an external locus of financial control are more likely to engage in
impulsive BNPL use. This points to the role of personal beliefs and peer influence in shaping
frequent users’ attitudes toward spending, in contrast to non-users who may display more
restrained financial behaviors. Taken together, the literature suggests that frequent BNPL
users tend to exhibit more permissive, impulsive, and debt-tolerant spending attitudes, while
rare or non-users are more conservative and disciplined in their financial approach. These
findings provide strong support for investigating whether Grade 12 students in Mataas na
Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales demonstrate similar differences in their spending attitudes
based on their BNPL usage.
REFERENCES:

Ainy, R. N., Ariesanti, A., Fachrudin, K. A., Sa’dani, O. S., & Diati, Z. S. I. (2025). The Buy
Now Pay Later paradox: Financially literate yet impulsive? Revista de Gestão Social e
Ambiental, 19(5), e012154. [Link]

Ali, S., Naeem, M. A., & Yarovaya, L. (2025). Buy-now-pay-later and financial well-being:
Evidence from young consumers. Accounting & Finance.
[Link]
fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR4o8maMjrt6F1BkS0jxD3oQz9sumOVxGDdVOl0ruLi
eB3orMOXrSadrFAR51g_aem_EX-CMTQ_qNrXI-UF8bou-g

Anaya, K. O., Piquero, J. R. M., Romero, C. J. P., Sales,Y. L. M., Suñga, P. A. N., Ibañez,
M. M., Ramos, R. I. A., & Asi, G. M. (2024). Peer Influence and Adolescent Spending:
Insights into High School Students’ Buying Behavio.
[Link]

Azzahra, H. and Nur, T. (2023). "The Influence of Behavioral Intention of Using PayLater
Apps on Consumptive Behavior Moderated by Financial Literacy," 2023 5th International
Conference on Cybernetics and Intelligent System (ICORIS).
[Link]

Beatty, R., & Liao, H. (2025). The behavioral impact of point-of-sale financing: Evidence from
BNPL adoption. Journal of Financial Economics. [Link]
405X(25)00101-1
[Link]
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HmfSuwa-kOTdav_lCUA_aem_lmANxvDPXLma2fd7SfOUEQ

Juita, S., Pujani, S., Rahim, R., & Rahayu, E. (2024). Dataset on online impulsive buying
behavior of Buy Now Pay Later users and non-users in Indonesia using the stimulus-
organism-response model. Data in Brief, 54, 110500.
[Link]

Keil, J., & Burg, V. (2023). “Buy Now, Pay Later” and impulse shopping. SSRN.
[Link]
Leslie-Piper, N. S., Oloke, T., & Donou-Adonsou, F. (2025). The impact of buy-now-pay-later
use frequency on social media shopping, luxury consumption, and consumer indebtedness.
Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings, 2025(25).
[Link]

Nowak, P., Kowalski, T., & Wozniak, A. (2025). Determinants of BNPL adoption among
Polish consumers. CEEOL Journal of Economics & Management.
[Link]
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DYYZ-zEgSP8yGCKOWzuZoPbveA_aem_SBbSO2K42B2aoqQotBvLPg

Prasetyo, M. A., Santoso, R., & Widodo, Y. (2025). God locus of control, social comparison,
and impulsive BNPL use. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1).
[Link]
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FD8MKryd1WshayYELNRCbQ_aem_phvRsgm1_VXg4bZxj2rcLw

Raj, V. A., Jasrotia, S. S., & Rai, S. S. (2023). Intensifying materialism through buy-now pay-
later (BNPL): examining the dark sides. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
[Link]
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Rodriguez, J. M. P., Velez, C., & Palallos, L. Q. (2024). Social Media Influence on Senior
High Students’ Spending Behavior for a Financial Management Plan. International Journal of
Management, Knowledge and Learning, 13.
[Link]

Rumondor, R., & Mananeke, L. (2020). The influence of lifestyle, technology, and peers on
BNPL adoption. Jurnal EMBA, 8(4), 1121–1131.
[Link]

Soong, Y. Q., Wong, C. Y., Ng, W. C., & Khaw, K. W. (2024). The Intention of Young Adults
in Malaysia toward Using Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) in an Online Shopping Environment.
International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences.
[Link]
Malaysia-toward-Using-Buy-Now-Pay-Later-BNPL-in-an-Online-Shopping-Environment
Widiastuti, C. T. (2025). Financial literacy, usage of pay-later services, and impulse buying
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12. [Link]

Common questions

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The frequency of using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services is significantly linked to an increase in impulsive spending, particularly among high school students. Studies indicate that repeated use of BNPL services reduces the psychological barrier of upfront payments, making consumers more willing to spend . Moreover, frequent users of BNPL services are more likely to engage in social media-driven purchases and luxury consumption, leading to higher indebtedness . This habit is further intensified by materialistic values and the allure of instant gratification facilitated by peer and social media influences .

Financial literacy plays a critical role in moderating the effects of BNPL services, as it influences students' spending habits by providing them with the knowledge needed to make informed financial decisions. However, even financially literate students are susceptible to impulsive purchases when using BNPL services frequently, due to materialistic values and perceived convenience . While financial literacy can mitigate some impulsive behaviors, it does not fully prevent them, especially in environments with strong peer pressure and social media influence .

Evidence supporting the relationship between BNPL frequency and materialistic values in shaping consumer spending can be found in studies that show frequent BNPL users are more likely to prioritize wants over needs. Such users engage more often in social media-driven purchases and luxury consumption due to intensified materialistic values . Research indicates that BNPL services amplify these values by enabling instant gratification and reducing the immediate payment burden, thus reinforcing impulsive buying behaviors aligned with materialism .

The availability of BNPL services in online shopping environments significantly influences consumer behavior by increasing the likelihood of impulsive purchases. With BNPL options, consumers are 17% more likely to make purchases as they alleviate the immediate financial burden and reduce the perceived cost of spending . This option reduces the psychological barrier by allowing payments to be deferred, making it more appealing for consumers to indulge in non-essential purchases .

Peer and social media influences significantly shape the spending patterns of adolescents using BNPL services by amplifying materialistic values and consumerist attitudes. These social factors encourage impulsive and consumptive spending behaviors by fostering a desire to keep up with peers, thereby prioritizing wants over essential needs . Social media advertisements also play a crucial role by exposing students to targeted ads that reinforce consumerist tendencies, which are further reinforced through BNPL schemes, making non-essential purchases more appealing .

Individual characteristics such as self-control and materialism interact with external stimuli like promotional offers and peer influence to influence impulsive buying among BNPL users. Studies using the stimulus-organism-response framework have shown that these personal and environmental factors collectively encourage impulsive spending among frequent BNPL users . External stimuli diminish the psychological barrier to spending, while characteristics like materialism increase consumers' sensitivity to these stimuli, promoting impulsive purchasing behavior .

Technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the appeal of BNPL services among young consumers by facilitating seamless and easily accessible payment options integrated into online shopping platforms. The integration of BNPL options into digital marketplaces reduces friction at the point of sale and capitalizes on mobile technology’s convenience, making it an attractive option for tech-savvy consumers. Moreover, technology-driven targeted advertisements on social media platforms amplify consumerist attitudes, promoting frequent and impulsive BNPL usage .

BNPL usage impacts the financial well-being of young consumers, particularly those under 25, by decreasing their levels of financial control and budgeting discipline. Frequent BNPL users report lower financial responsibility and an increased openness to debt due to the reduced psychological barrier of spending . Although BNPL can act as a budgeting tool when used sparingly, frequent use leads to more impulsive spending behaviors, limiting long-term financial stability and control among young users .

Demographic factors influence the adoption and usage of BNPL services as younger consumers, women, and those with limited access to traditional credit are more inclined to use BNPL, demonstrating a greater openness to debt . Lifestyle preferences and technology use are also prominent factors, with studies showing that such characteristics strongly predict BNPL adoption. These differences reflect varying attitudes toward spending based on social and cultural context .

The "BNPL paradox" refers to the phenomenon where financially literate Gen-Z consumers engage in impulsive spending despite their financial knowledge. This paradox highlights that even with awareness of financial consequences, the convenience and perceived benefits of BNPL services can encourage unplanned purchases . The study by Ainy et al. (2025) showed that materialistic values and the frequency of BNPL use intensify this behavior by providing immediate gratification and lessening the immediate financial impact of purchases .

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