Labor migrants in Russia made more than 1 million online purchases worth 1.2 billion rubles from January through August 2026, with the number of transactions increasing by 116% year on year, Vedomosti reports, citing analysts from martech company First Data.

Spending on patents and migration-related services recorded the sharpest increase, with the number of such transactions rising by 2,086%. They now account for about one-third of all online payments made by migrants.

Online spending on clothing increased by 180%, while payments for mobile communications and internet services rose by 115%. Spending on car-sharing and car rentals grew by 89%.

Purchases of smartphone accessories and electronics increased by 65%, while spending on streaming, music and other entertainment services rose by 54%.

The study analyzed more than 1 million anonymized transactions made by labor migrants across Russia between January and August 2026.

Men accounted for 73% of the purchases, compared with 27% by women. The most active age groups were migrants aged 25–35 and 35–45.