Shifting preference: At the onset of the pandemic last year, hoolah had seen consumer preference shifting towards using debit cards over credit cards for purchases. — Bloomberg
KUALA LUMPUR: Buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions provider hoolah has experienced a 600% surge in order volume from May 2020 until May 2021.
General manager Jason Wong said the massive growth is a testament to the encouraging consumer demand for BNPL services across various categories, as well as in the number of blue-chip and local merchants that the Singapore-based company is in partnership with.
The increase also showed that hoolah is empowering its users to manage their cashflow, as people have become more price-conscious and appreciate the importance of mitigating personal cashflow during the pandemic, Wong added.
“With a BNPL like hoolah, consumers get to manage their monthly expenditure and maximise personal cashflow by paying just one-third of their purchase upfront.
“The BNPL platform provides a more flexible solution that enables consumers to split their purchases into three interest-free monthly repayments, utilising existing credit or debit payment instruments from any financial institution at no additional cost and no hidden fees, ” he told Bernama.
Wong noted that at the onset of the pandemic last year, hoolah had seen consumer preference shifting towards using debit cards over credit cards for purchases.
He said 75% of transactions on hoolah were made with debit cards in March 2021, compared with 55% in January 2020.
In line with its motto of “Responsible Affordability”, he said hoolah allows customers to make an investment into quality products and lead the lifestyles they want or aspire but at the same time, making sure they do not fall into debt.
“It is about allowing customers to take control of their spending rather than overspend.
“There are instances where we have rejected transactions when we think people are moving in the wrong direction, ” Wong said.
He added that as a responsible service provider, hoolah ensures that consumers are provided with personal financial literacy and money management awareness.
“We develop personalised order limits for consumers to protect them, as well as its merchants and business, to ensure that users do not overuse the platform.
“When the cap is hit, they need to pay off outstanding installments before they could use hoolah to place a new order, ” he said.
In the terms of business, Wong said hoolah’s merchant partners escalated their businesses during the duration of the movement restriction by the government in 2020, reporting a 20% to 40% increase in conversion and basket size.
One of hoolah’s partners, Al-Ikhsan Sports Sdn Bhd, said on a month-to-month basis, its e-commerce sales have shown an upward trajectory, especially for football jerseys.
Al-Ikhsan chief executive officer Vach Pillutla said the sports goods retailer noted an uptick of purchases made with hoolah on its website; about 15% of transactions this month have come through the BNPL provider.
“With the ongoing pandemic, many of our customers have had to shift to cost-saving and affordability.
“This is where hoolah is assisting Al-Ikhsan in providing an alternative payment option for our customers, with the added convenience of BNPL to get access to our products, ” he said. — Bernama
