Nordbaby: Flexible payment options help families plan larger purchases more effectively

Nordbaby offers a carefully selected range of high-quality baby and children’s products, from pregnancy through the toddler years. Its selection includes strollers, car seats, children’s furniture, textiles, toys and everyday baby essentials that support a comfortable and safe family life. In addition to its online store, Nordbaby places great importance on the personal shopping experience in its physical stores, where parents can explore and try products and ask for advice.

“Our main customer is an expectant parent or a family with young children, most often a woman aged 25 to 40 who makes the family’s everyday purchasing decisions and values product safety, quality, practicality and design,” says Ats Piirmets, CEO of Nordbaby.

Larger purchases require careful consideration

According to Piirmets, purchases in their sector are usually planned, as families need to cover several significant expenses within a relatively short period during pregnancy.

“During pregnancy, families often make larger purchases, such as a stroller, car seat or baby furniture. Later, shopping baskets become smaller, with more repeat purchases of everyday baby essentials and products related to the child’s growth and changing needs,” he explains.

A Kantar Emor consumer behaviour survey conducted at the end of last year found that Estonian consumers predominantly use “buy now, pay later” payment options for needs-based purchases rather than impulse or luxury purchases. Furthermore, 85% of respondents said they already consider paying in instalments at the purchase planning stage. This confirms that the decision is not made impulsively at checkout. Instead, people consider their financial commitments in advance.

“Carefully considered financing can help maintain a sense of financial security and flexibility,” says Hanno Ladvas, Head of Inbank Estonia. “Responsible consumption does not simply mean paying for every purchase immediately with the money available in your bank account. It is equally important to know how to plan the family budget, keep savings available for unexpected expenses and avoid a situation where one larger purchase throws the entire household budget off balance.”

This is why “buy now, pay later” payment options are most commonly used for larger and important expenses, as spreading payments over time provides meaningful flexibility for the household budget.

“Responsible consumption does not simply mean paying for every purchase immediately with the money available in your bank account. It is equally important to know how to plan the family budget, keep savings available for unexpected expenses and avoid a situation where one larger purchase throws the entire household budget off balance.”

Flexible payment options support purchasing decisions

Nordbaby’s experience shows that actively introducing customers to “buy now, pay later” options can make purchasing decisions easier.

“When we actively introduce customers to flexible payment options, it helps reduce the pressure associated with making a purchase. Customers do not have to compromise simply because paying the full amount at once is inconvenient. It gives them the opportunity to choose the products their family genuinely wants and needs,” says Piirmets.

A recent customer experience illustrates this effect well. An expectant father came in to buy a stroller and infant car seat he had already selected, but after seeing the “buy now, pay later” option, he decided to add nursery furniture to his shopping basket as well. “This allowed the family to get everything they needed at once without having to spread their purchases over several months,” Piirmets explains.

According to Piirmets, consumer payment behaviour has changed in recent years. While bank payments used to dominate, customers are now increasingly using card payments, “buy now, pay later” solutions and instalment financing.

“Compared with 2025, the use of ‘buy now, pay later’ and instalment financing solutions has increased by approximately 15%,” he notes. “When the monthly payment is visible at an earlier stage of the customer journey, customers are more open to completing the purchase.”

“Compared with 2025, the use of ‘buy now, pay later’ and instalment financing solutions has increased by approximately 15%. When the monthly payment is visible at an earlier stage of the customer journey, customers are more open to completing the purchase.”

Maksekeskus brings payment methods together on one platform

For Nordbaby, it is important that different payment solutions are easy to manage. The integration of its online store with Maksekeskus brings all major payment methods together in one place and reduces the need for multiple separate technical integrations.

“It simplifies online store management, reduces the number of different integrations and provides a consolidated overview of all transactions and payments,” says Piirmets.

Nordbaby advises other merchants considering offering “buy now, pay later” solutions to first assess the specific characteristics of their sector and their customers’ purchasing behaviour.

“It depends on the nature of the business, but our experience shows that flexible payment options give customers more choice when making purchasing decisions and help them plan necessary purchases more effectively,” Piirmets concludes.