World Market is partnering with Affirm to offer buy now, pay later plans at nearly 250 stores, as well as online. For the specialty retailer known for stylish furniture, home decor, and international food, the program will replace what many of its competitors already offer: a co-branded credit card.
For a retailer without a store-branded card, a strong BNPL offering may be the next best thing. Customers can now choose between biweekly or monthly installments when using the service. In-store shoppers can simply scan a QR code to initiate a payment plan.
“It was inevitable that Affirm would have to offer an in-store option for large omnichannel retailers like World Market,” said Don Apgar, Director of Merchant at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Consumers expect a consistent experience regardless of how they interact with the merchant.”
Reaching a More Price-Oriented Customer
Affirm already boasts more than 358,000 retail partners, including World Market’s more upscale competitors like Pottery Barn and its subsidiary Williams Sonoma. In contrast, World Market caters to a more value-oriented customer base, making its shoppers especially well-suited for BNPL services.
“The World Market business model relies on cutting deals from all over the world and appealing to a more price-conscious buyer,” Apgar said. “Affirm strikes me as a good fit for World Market.
“The Pottery Barn family of stores also offers Affirm both in-store and online, but also offers a co-branded Visa card through Capital One,” he said. Apgar is currently working on a report on the relationship between BNPL programs and store-branded credit cards. “While the co-branded card targets reward-driven consumers and Affirm targets those who need access to credit, it would be interesting to see if that results in any cannibalization of the co-branded Pottery Barn card by Affirm.”
A Growing Model
According to Javelin’s 2024 North American PaymentsInsights report, more than 30% of U.S. adults surveyed last year had used BNPL services in the past 30 days.
Affirm has been at the forefront of this trend, reporting 21 million active consumers last year—a 23% year-over-year increase. According to the company’s research, retailers that offer Affirm at checkout see 70% higher average cart sizes and nearly 30% fewer abandoned carts compared to other pay-over-time providers.
