The firm’s users in the United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam drive demand, while payment preferences vary substantially across markets
New transaction data can offer marketers a snapshot of how consumers shop across borders: which product categories attract international demand, where buyers are concentrated, and how payment choices differ by market.
So, according to one payment processing firm, its transaction data indicates that international consumers made more than 3.4bn cross-border purchases through its systems in the year to June 2026, generating over US$172bn in payment volume for businesses selling overseas.
The data covers transactions processed by PayPal between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.
More than 167m buyers had made at least one cross-border purchase during the period, and 75% had shopped internationally more than once. The figures indicate that cross-border buying has become a recurring consumer behaviour rather than an occasional transaction.
Gaming and fashion led the numbers
Among the categories with the highest international demand were gaming, fashion and digital goods. Demand for gaming products was strongest from the United States, Germany and Japan; fashion demand was led by Mexico, Vietnam and the United States; and digital-goods demand was led by the United States, Germany and Vietnam.
The firm also found that its consumers had used instalment payment options most often when buying gaming products, hotel services and digital goods. In cases where Buy Now, Pay Later was used, cross-border orders were on average 2.4 times larger than orders without it.
Payment methods varied
Payment preferences varied substantially across the firm’s markets. In the United States, more than 58% of purchases were funded by card; in Germany, 70% used bank transfers; and in Mexico, more than 98% used cards.
The findings are based on a payments provider’s internal transaction data, so they describe activity on that platform rather than total global cross-border e-commerce. PayPal also notes that instalment payment availability and consumer eligibility depend on the market, merchant status, sector and integration.
