Just over a quarter of online shoppers in Kazakhstan still pay cash on delivery, with that share rising to 57.5% in Astana.
At the same time, about half of all e-commerce transactions in the country fall in the range of 25,000 to 100,000 tenge (roughly $50 to $200). Kursiv.media analyzed new data from the Bureau of National Statistics to profile the typical Kazakhstani online shopper.
On average, 32.13% of users in Kazakhstan regularly shop online.
Regions show uneven adoption
Contrary to expectations, the East Kazakhstan region — not Almaty or Astana — leads the country in e-commerce engagement. Nearly two-thirds of users there, or 61.7%, shop online.
The top five regions by share of online shoppers are:
- East Kazakhstan: 61.7%
- Karaganda: 49.89%
- Almaty: 46%
- Aktobe: 45.96%
- Astana: 43.42%
Turkestan (11.1%) and Zhetysu (11.99%) rank lowest in digital commerce adoption.
Clothing dominates online purchases
Marketplaces have largely replaced traditional shopping malls in shaping consumer demand.
Read also: How Ramadan is reshaping global retail.
Clothing, footwear and sporting goods remain the top category, with 71.29% of online shoppers purchasing these items. In the Atyrau and Kostanay regions, that figure approaches 90%.
Other popular categories nationwide include:
- Groceries: 45.17%
- Cosmetics: 33.2%
- Household goods: 33.19%
- Pharmaceuticals: 31.94%
Services lag behind goods
Digital services trail physical goods in popularity. Only 12.41% of consumers book travel online, while fewer than 20% purchase telecom services digitally.
Cards lead, but cash and transfers persist
Bank cards and digital payments dominate, but alternative methods remain widely used.
About 56.51% of shoppers pay by card directly on websites. Another 50.23% use bank transfers — a figure that likely reflects widespread peer-to-peer payments, especially for purchases via Instagram or small businesses.
Meanwhile, 27.75% of consumers use mobile payment services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
