European Adoption of Buy Now, Pay Later Apps Reached a Record 10 Million Installs in H1 2022

The intensifying competition between Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) apps is reshaping the European mobile BNPL space. With BNPL becoming a household name over the last few quarters, Sensor Tower data reveals traditional BNPL apps have reached a new record of nearly 10 million installs on the App Store and Google Play in the first half of 2022. The United Kingdom and Germany were the largest European markets by adoption in H1 2022. Sensor Tower’s State of Buy Now, Pay Later Apps in Europe report, available now as a free download, includes an analysis of market mobile trends and digital ad trends for leading BNPL apps in the region.

Klarna Remains The Undisputed BNPL Leader in Europe

In H1 2022, traditional BNPL apps have seen their highest install total yet in Europe, up 339 percent compared to H1 2019. Despite recent financial headwinds, Klarna remains the undisputed BNPL leader in the European mobile POS financing landscape. The app was able to retain 70 percent market share across the European continent in June 2022 beating Clearpay, the second-highest app with regard to market share, by more than 60 percentage points.

Apple Pay Later Can Capture European Market Share

Apple introduced its Apple Pay Later feature earlier this year to American consumers. While the feature is not available in European markets just yet, Apple’s acquisition of fintech startup Credit Kudos signals a potential for a U.K. market expansion.

In Q2 2022, iPhone accounted for 40 percent of Klarna’s downloads across 35 European countries. Based on the share of iPhone versus Google Play downloads of Klarna, some markets such as Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, the U.K., and Germany could be the most valuable markets for Apple Pay Later in the near future.

Neobanks May Capitalize on Retention Rates

In the past few months, Neobanks including Monzo Bank and Revolut have launched BNPL products, making its apps a one-stop hub for personal finance and BNPL purchases. In Q1 2022, Android retention rates of leading BNPL apps show Neobanks have significantly higher app retention rates compared to Traditional BNPL and other fintech BNPL apps. With higher app retention rates, Neobanks may be able to turn this into an opportunity of providing new BNPL offerings.

While the European BNPL space has so far been mostly defined by leading providers such as Klarna and Clearpay, the boost to e-commerce driven by the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the emergence of new apps in the past few years. With no signs of a market slowdown, the increasing popularity of mobile BNPL apps may continue to shape the mobile space in Europe.

For more analysis from the Sensor Tower Store Intelligence platform, including key insights on the performance of top Buy Now Pay Later apps in Europe, download the complete report in PDF form below: