The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price will be on watch this morning after the release of a business update.
What did Afterpay announce?
This morning the payments company announced that there are now more than five million active customers in the United States using its buy now pay later service.
Furthermore, in total there are nearly nine million U.S. consumers who have joined the platform since its launch two years ago. This includes more than one million new customers using the platform during the COVID- 19 period of the last ten weeks.
According to the release, this represents a 30-40% increase in the weekly run rate from January and February.
In addition to this, the company revealed that more than 15,000 brands and retailers are offering, or in the process of offering Afterpay to their customers.
New merchants include A.L.C., AE/Aerie, American Eagle, Birkenstock, Furla, Herschel, Lancer Skincare, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Perricone MD, Soko Glam and The Hut Group, Tilly's, and YSL Beauty.
This led to the Afterpay app having more than 15 million app and site visits during April, with Afterpay's U.S. Shop Directory contributing nearly 10 million lead referrals to its retail partners.
Nick Molnar, co-founder and U.S. CEO of Afterpay, commented: "At a time in which ecommerce has become the primary way people are shopping, there is a growing interest and demand among consumers to pay for things they want and need over time using their own money – instead of turning to expensive loans with interest, fees or revolving debt."
"We feel so grateful to partner with the merchant community to support their shoppers and help them attract more customers, as commerce and retail starts to rebound over the next several months," he added.
No update was provided on the ANZ or UK businesses.
