The gross merchandise value of items bought using buy now, pay later (BNPL) options is expected to surge 173 percent by 2024, driven significantly by an increase in mobile commerce (m-commerce) penetration, a new study from in-app and in-store financing solutions provider UnaCash reveal.

The number is a vast increase from GMV of items bought via BNPL in 2023est (154 percent), 2022 (178 percent), and 2021 (118 percent), indicating a clear synergy between the BNPL market and the mobile commerce market.

"Buy Now, Pay Later is consistently on the rise," said Aleksei Kosenko, president of UnaCash. "This can be regarded as a modern digital-era payment solution, not just in the Philippines, which offers convenience to both consumers and its partner merchants by minimizing the initial cost of purchases. Innovative upgrades like point-of-sale loans will allow this payment method to experience remarkable growth in the years to come."

Buy Now, Pay Later allows consumers to purchase products immediately and avail through convenient installment periods. Approximately 15 percent of all online transactions in the Philippines utilize BNPL solutions, further amplifying its relationship with consumers' purchasing behavior.

M-commerce — conventionally understood as online transactions carried out on wireless devices, such as smartphones, smartwatches or tablets — has doubled over the past five years. By the end of 2022, more than half of the Philippine population was involved in mobile commerce, with penetration reaching 55 percent. Every year, the percentage of mobile commerce usage increased by six percent. The most significant increase in the indicator was observed in 2020, at 12 percent — primarily due to the impact of the pandemic.

Regarding sales, m-commerce had an average annual growth rate of 47.4 percent from 2018 to 2022. The most significant surge occurred in 2019, with a remarkable increase of 63.4 percent in sales through m-commerce, signifying a 4.7-fold increase or an equivalent of P243.3 billion. By 2022, it was worth P308.7 billion.

M-commerce has gradually increased its share in the more significant e-commerce industry, initially having just a 16 percent stake in 2018 to a historical high of 74 percent in 2022. The share of m-commerce in e-commerce is projected to reach 80 percent by 2024.

UnaCash also estimates that the e-commerce market in the Philippines will grow 84 percent by 2024, considering the doubling of mobile commerce use from 2018 to 2022.

The e-commerce audience in the Philippines, predominantly mobile, are persons aged 25-34, making up more than 30 percent of users, followed by those aged 18-24.