An increasing number of Americans are taking out short-term deferred payment loans to cover the costs of weekly groceries and food delivery, according to the nation’s leading online loan marketplace.

A new survey of 2,000 consumers by financial site Lending Tree found that nearly half have used a buy-now, pay-later service for an array of purchases, including clothing, accessories, electronics, and home decor. However, the biggest increase in the use of these types of loans was at supermarkets, with 25 percent of those polled saying they used the installment payment plan for groceries — an increase of 14 percent from a year ago. 

The new data may suggest that Americans are facing greater economic pressure due to continued inflation, rising interest rates, and tariff concerns, Lending Tree’s Chief Consumer Finance Analyst, Matt Schulz, told NBC News

“A lot of people are struggling and looking for ways to extend their budget,” Mr. Schulz said. “Inflation is still a problem. Interest rates are still really high. There’s a lot of uncertainty around tariffs and other economic issues, and it’s all going to add up to a lot of people looking for ways to extend their budget however they can.”

The short-term loans offered by third-party financial companies like PayPal, Affirm, and Klarna — newbies in the credit market compared to traditional credit providers like Visa and Master Card — are increasingly used by consumers to pay for purchases when traditional credit may be absent. 

The loans, often offered during online checkout, are attractive to borrowers with lower credit scores who may not be able to obtain a credit card, and younger Americans who have not yet established credit. Sixty-four percent of Gen Z respondents reported using a buy-now, pay-later service. 

Yet the system holds potential pitfalls.   

“It’s just really important for people to be cautious when they use these things, because even though they can be a really good interest-free tool to help you kind of make it from one paycheck to the next, there’s also a lot of risk in mismanaging it,” Mr. Schulz said. “So people should tread lightly.”

According to the survey, 93 percent of respondents said they are very or somewhat confident they can pay off their loans on time, while 60 percent said they had multiple installment loans at once.

Third-party lenders, however, make it easier to get overextended. Recent news reports showed that a majority of concert-goers at the Coachella music festival in southern California used an installment plan to buy their tickets. DoorDash and Klarna recently announced a partnership to allow customers to pay for food service deliveries, though the survey found 16 percent of buy-now, pay-later users already used an installment plan for restaurant food delivery or takeout.  

The average loan was for a $142 purchase, the survey showed. 

Mr. Schultz said that the new findings are not necessarily an indicator of a looming recession on the horizon, but he believes that conditions could continue to degrade.

“I do think it’s going to get worse, at least in the short term,” he said. “I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of reason to expect these numbers to get better.”