About one in four Americans are often or occasionally paying in installments when they buy things online, a figure that rises among people worried about their finances.
Thirty-seven percent of lower-income Americans report using installment plans either frequently or occasionally, according to new Gallup polling.
And 46% of Americans who say they don’t have enough money to live comfortably are paying in installments at least on occasion, while 57% of those worried about making credit card payments use them.
The polling out today provides another data point to underscore the affordability crisis in the US, which is affecting Trump’s job approval on the economy.
“Republicans could face a tsunami election in November if inflation continues to stay high,” one conservative economist told The New York Times, characterizing war-fueled gas prices as “the chief gauge people use to determine how the economy is doing.”