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SB Payment Service Corp. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CISO: Tomonori Hotta), a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp., conducted a survey on the actual usage of payment methods on e-commerce sites ^*1 that provide physical goods and digital content services. A portion of the survey results is presented below.
This survey is being released for the seventh time, following those in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025.

• Retail: E-commerce sites selling clothing, daily necessities, cosmetics, food products, pharmaceuticals, etc.
  Digital content and services: E-commerce sites offering games, e-books, video streaming services, food delivery, tickets, etc.

Survey results

Trends in frequently used/most frequently used payment methods on e-commerce sites

When asked about the payment methods they frequently use when purchasing goods or digital content services on e-commerce sites, the top pick was "Credit Card Payment" (53.0% or higher), "PayPay (Online Payment)" (33.8% or higher), "RakutenPay(Online)" (15.9% or higher), and "d Payment" (10.2% or higher) ranked fourth.
Compared to the start of the survey in 2018, "Credit Card Payment" still holds the top spot with a majority, and QR code payments such as "PayPay (Online Payment)" and "RakutenPay(Online)" have seen a significant increase in usage from the start of the survey, indicating that they have become established as the main payment methods.

When asked which of the websites they frequently use to purchase items—payment methods—ranked highest by product category, “Credit Card Payment” came in first place and “PayPay (Online Payment)” came in second place across all product categories.
Additionally, in the categories of clothing and fashion accessories, as well as daily necessities and cosmetics, “CVS Payment” and “BNPL（Buy now pay later）” were selected among the top five; while in the categories of food and beverages, furniture, and home appliances, “point payments” were selected among the top five.
Furthermore, when comparing the number of “payment methods” for which 10% or more of respondents indicated they use them frequently by gender and age group, women in their 20s had the highest number at 13 types, revealing that payment needs among women in their 20s are particularly diverse.

When purchasing digital content and services, "Credit Card Payment" was ranked first, followed by "PayPay (Online Payment)" in second place. In addition, "Mobile Carrier Billing" was ranked among the top five for almost all products, excluding utility bills and insurance.
Furthermore, "BNPL（Buy now pay later）" ranked among the top 5 most popular payment methods for digital content such as games and videos, as well as tickets and fan clubs, indicating that "BNPL（Buy now pay later）" is becoming more widespread and in high demand.

When asked about their most frequently used payment methods when purchasing goods or digital content/services on e-commerce sites, both men and women ranked "Credit Card Payment" as their number one choice (over 44.0%), followed by "PayPay (Online Payment)" in second place (over 13.0%), and "RakutenPay(Online)" in third place (over 4.2%).

Current status and expectations for AI utilization on e-commerce sites

When asked about their use of AI when purchasing goods or digital content/services on e-commerce sites, the results showed that "28.0% or more have used AI to gather information" and "19.4% or more have made purchasing decisions based on AI recommendations."

Regarding AI-based information gathering in particular, over 40% of men in their 20s and 30s have experience using it for physical goods, and over 40% of men in their teens to 30s and women in their 20s have experience using it for digital content and services, indicating that it is becoming integrated into daily purchasing behavior, especially among younger generations.
Furthermore, regarding purchasing decisions based on AI recommendations, a high tendency was observed among men in their 20s and 30s and women in their 20s for both physical goods and digital content/services. In particular, women in their 20s were more than 10% higher than men in their 20s and 30s, clearly demonstrating that AI recommendations are directly linked to purchasing decisions.

Next, when we asked those who intend to use agent commerce about their expectations of AI, the most popular request for both goods and digital content/services was "suggestions for the best deal, calculated based on the lowest price and point rewards."
On the other hand, regarding the characteristics of each product category, for physical goods, the most popular responses were "comparing and listing the features of desired products and suggesting the most suitable item" (28.7%) and "recommending products that suit one's preferences, size, body type, etc." (28.2%). For digital content and services, the top responses were "recommending content and services that suit one's preferences, genre, conditions, etc." (28.8%) and "handling refunds and troubleshooting/support" (27.5%).

ECサイトにおける次世代コマースでの購入経験・利用意向

When asked about their experience purchasing goods through social commerce or live commerce on e-commerce sites, over 30% of respondents said they had made such purchases.
Broken down by gender and age group, approximately half of men in their 20s and 30s and women in their 20s had experience with it, and more than 20% of those who use it regularly indicated that it is becoming established as a new purchasing behavior.

When we asked people who have experience purchasing goods through social commerce or live commerce about the social media and video sharing platforms they use, "YouTube" was the top choice for men across all age groups. However, for women, "TikTok" was the top choice for teenagers, "Instagram" for those in their 20s and 30s, and "YouTube" for those 40 and older, showing differences based on gender and age.

Furthermore, when we asked those who answered that they had no experience or were unsure about purchasing through social commerce, live commerce, or agency commerce about their intention to use each of these methods, over 13.0% of respondents said they were positive about using them.
Social commerce and live commerce showed high usage intentions among men and women in their teens and twenties, while agency commerce was particularly popular among men and women in their twenties.
Furthermore, in every next-generation commerce category, approximately 30% of respondents answered "neither," indicating that there is a large potential customer base that could potentially switch to using the service as it becomes more widespread and recognized.
These results suggest that new purchasing behaviors are spreading, particularly among those under 30. In the future, new approaches that go beyond traditional search and payment methods, such as agent commerce utilizing AI, will become increasingly important for the expansion of the e-commerce market.

SB Payment Service Corp., as a PSP company, provides a wide range payment methods essential for operating e-commerce websites.
Furthermore, as a SoftBank group company, we can not only support increased brand awareness and customer acquisition by leveraging SoftBank's customer base, but also propose expanding our lineup of optimal payment methods to meet the diversifying needs of users.
Businesses facing challenges in launching a new online business or managing an existing e-commerce site should contact SB Payment Service Corp.

You can download the full survey results here.
・Merchandise version: https://www.sbpayment.jp/whitepapers/download/survey-netshop.html
・Digital Content Service version: https://www.sbpayment.jp/whitepapers/download/survey-digital-service.html

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• You are free to reproduce both the diagrams and text from this survey.
• The copyright for this survey belongs to SB Payment Service Corp., but permission to use it is granted to those who meet the following terms of use.

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   https://www.sbpayment.jp/en/news/press/2026/20261111_001620/
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4. If we determine that the content is inappropriate, we will comply with any request to remove it.

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