E-Commerce Still ‘Elevated’ Even Where Lockdowns Eased, Says PayPal CFO

E-commerce reached a “tipping point" during the pandemic, based on “fundamental shifts in consumer behavior,” PayPal Chief Financial Officer John Rainey told a virtual Deutsche Bank conference Monday. “In areas where some of the shelter-in-place or social distancing measures have been relaxed, we're still seeing much more elevated levels of e-commerce activity.” The single largest demographic of new PayPal users is “silver tech,” people older than 50 coming to e-commerce for the first time, he said. “When people are lacking mobility and the ability to go purchase something in a physical setting, we're going to see heightened levels of e-commerce trends,” said Rainey. “What follows is new customers.”