À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Yonhap]
Online shopping transactions in South Korea hit an all-time high in August due to the strengthened social distancing measures amid a resurgence of Covid-19 infections and the unusually long rainy season.
According to data released by Statistics Korea on Monday, total online retail transactions, including transactions via PCs and mobile devices, amounted to 14.38 trillion won ($12.4 billion) in August, up 27.5 percent from the same month a year earlier. It is the highest volume since related data became available in January 2001.
Online shopping transactions accounted for 28.6 percent of the country¡¯s total retail sales in August, up 7.7 percentage points from a year ago. The share is also an all-time high.
Online sales for delivery of freshly cooked food soared 83 percent to 1.67 trillion won over the cited period. Other food and beverage sales also jumped 44.4 percent to 1.75 trillion won.
Online sales of daily necessities surged 59.3 percent and those of home appliances, electronics, and telecommunication devices jumped 48.8 percent.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë The statistics bureau said the second wave of Covid-19 in Korea and a long streak of rainy days boosted online sales of food, electronics and household items in August.
With the movement restrictions, online transactions for travel and transportation services tumbled 51.4 percent and those for cultural and leisure services dipped 56.7 percent from a year-ago period.
Mobile retail sales reached 9.32 trillion won, taking up 27.8 percent of total online transactions, the largest-ever share for mobile transactions.
A whopping 94.4 percent of food service transactions took place mobile, as an increasing number of consumers are relying on mobile apps to use food delivery services.
By Yang Yeon-ho and Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]