AI is moving product comparison upstream
PayPal said 35% of surveyed UK adults had used or planned to use AI for Christmas shopping, while 52% said they would use it to find deals or compare prices. The online research, commissioned with Morning Consult, surveyed 2,076 UK adults from September 4 to 10, including 515 people who had already used BNPL for Christmas shopping this year. The results describe stated intentions, not observed conversion behaviour.
Payment messaging may need to appear earlier
Among Christmas BNPL shoppers, 55% favoured retailers that show the option on product pages, compared with 21% who favoured waiting until checkout. PayPal also reported that 67% said product-page visibility would make them more likely to add an item to their basket. Because the study was commissioned by a BNPL provider, merchants should validate the pattern with their own controlled testing and apply required credit disclosures.
What it means for merchants
Retailers should make price, delivery and eligible payment information machine-readable and consistent across product pages and checkout, then A/B test earlier BNPL messaging. Measure conversion alongside cancellations, returns and customer outcomes; do not optimise solely for basket additions.
Read the original announcement
PayPal · 22 Oct 2026This brief summarizes the linked primary source. Claims and reported figures have not been independently audited by Payment Guide.