New data from EBANX and World Data Lab highlights a clear divide in global e-commerce demographics, with the United States showing a mature, older consumer base, while emerging markets are led by younger shoppers under 30. The findings point to contrasting growth patterns in digital payments, consumer spending, and online retail adoption across regions.
In the U.S., consumers aged over 45 account for 50% of total online spending, reflecting one of the oldest digital commerce profiles globally. This share is expected to rise further, with projections indicating that the 65+ segment will grow from 19% to 23% over the next decade. By 2035, consumers over 45 are forecast to represent 54% of all digital transactions.
Similar patterns can be seen in other developed economies, where older consumers dominate online spending, including Japan, Italy, South Korea, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
In contrast, emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and parts of the Middle East are largely driven by younger consumers. Buyers under 30 account for a majority of online spending in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and the Philippines. In India, this group represents 47% of online purchases, while in Malaysia it accounts for 44%.
Latin America shows a more balanced distribution, though younger consumers still hold a larger share of spending compared to the United States.
“The world’s largest economies built their digital commerce on cards, high disposable income, and decades of retail maturity — a system shaped by consumers who were already adults when e-commerce began,” explained Estelita Hass, Head of Market Intelligence at EBANX. “Most emerging markets leapfrogged that cycle entirely, going straight to mobile and instant payments. The result is an entire generation entering online commerce with no attachment to traditional retail, fully digital from the start of their consumption lives.”
The structure of digital economies also differs significantly in terms of e-commerce penetration. In the United States, online purchases represent just 9.1% of total household spending, compared with much higher levels in emerging markets such as India (22%) and China (63.4%). Countries across Africa and Latin America are also seeing growing digital adoption, though at varying rates.
Growth projections further highlight the divide. Consumer spending in emerging markets is expected to increase by 94% over the next decade, compared with 49% in developed economies. Southeast Asia and India are projected to lead with 147% growth, significantly outpacing the United States.
Population growth and income expansion are also contributing factors. Over one billion people in emerging markets are expected to enter the consumer class within the next decade, expanding the global middle class by 32%. In comparison, developed markets will add only 28 million new consumers, a growth rate of 3%.
The composition of online spending also differs. In the United States, 84% of e-commerce spending comes from upper and upper-middle-income consumers, and this concentration is expected to increase. Meanwhile, in emerging markets, middle-income groups account for the majority of online purchases, reflecting broader financial inclusion and access to digital payments.
“The strong concentration of online spending among the middle class traces back to financial inclusion and the digitalization of payments that these economies have undergone in recent years,” noted Hass. “Pix in Brazil, UPI in India, mobile money in Africa, and e-wallets across all of these regions gave the broader population access to many products and services that until then had been reserved for credit card holders — in other words, the wealthy.”
As a result, account-to-account (A2A) payments and instant payment systems are gaining traction. A2A already accounts for 60% of online transactions in India and is expanding across other markets, including Brazil, Colombia, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
“The data in our report paints a consistent picture across both age and spending: the digital consumer that American and European companies know at home — older, affluent, card-native — is an outlier in the global landscape,” added Hass. “The vast majority of the world’s online buyers are younger, earn less, and pay differently. They are entering the digital marketplace for the first time, and they are doing so on their own terms. A strategy built for the U.S. and Europe is a strategy built for a fraction of the global market. The rest requires a different playbook entirely.”
