In July, online shopping transactions in South Korea reached 25.95 trillion won, driven by increased sales in food services, groceries, and automotive products.
The National Data Agency reported on September 1 that last month's online shopping transactions rose by 7.3% compared to the same month last year, marking the highest monthly figure since the agency began tracking these statistics in 2017.
Growth in transaction amounts was led by food services (up 8.9%), groceries (up 8.1%), and automotive products (up 31.1%).
Mobile shopping transactions totaled 19.57 trillion won, reflecting increases of 6.4% year-on-year and 3.2% month-on-month. Mobile shopping accounted for 78.0% of total online shopping transactions, a slight decrease of 0.6 percentage points from the same month last year.
By product category, clothing saw a decline of 6.1% compared to the same month last year, while food services, groceries, and automotive products experienced growth. Month-on-month, clothing sales dropped by 14.5%, while travel and transportation services (up 14.5%) and food services (up 7.9%) increased. The share of transaction amounts by category showed food services at 15.5%, followed by groceries at 13.9% and travel and transportation services at 12.6%.
Mobile shopping reflected similar trends across product categories. Clothing sales decreased by 9.5% year-on-year, while food services (up 9.1%), groceries (up 6.8%), and agricultural and marine products (up 16.3%) saw increases. Month-on-month, clothing sales fell by 12.8%, while food services (up 7.9%) and travel and transportation services (up 12.6%) rose. The composition of mobile shopping showed food services at 19.7%, groceries at 14.7%, and travel and transportation services at 11.6%.
Among online shopping transactions, mobile shopping accounted for the highest shares in food services (99.1%), e-coupon services (92.4%), and children’s products (85.3%). This share decreased in categories like communication devices (down 6.2 percentage points) but increased in cultural and leisure services (up 3.3 percentage points) and agricultural and marine products (up 2.7 percentage points). Month-on-month, the share for communication devices fell by 3.7 percentage points, while automotive products (up 4.1 percentage points) and clothing (up 1.5 percentage points) increased.
By product range, comprehensive malls saw a 6.8% increase year-on-year, reaching 13.54 trillion won, while specialized malls recorded a 7.9% increase to 11.55 trillion won. Month-on-month, comprehensive malls grew by 1.7%, and specialized malls increased by 2.1%. Comprehensive mall transactions maintained a level above half of total online shopping transactions.
In terms of operational types, online malls reported a 6.1% increase year-on-year, totaling 19.30 trillion won, while hybrid online-offline malls saw an 11.3% increase to 5.79 trillion won. Month-on-month, online malls increased by 3.0%, while hybrid malls decreased by 1.7%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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