Online shopping hits record high in November

SEJONG, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- Online shopping in South Korea reached a fresh record high in November, a government report showed Monday, in the latest sign that a growing number of South Koreans are using computers or mobile devices to buy goods.

Total online transactions reached a record 6 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) in November, up 23 percent from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets also soared 40.5 percent on-year to a record 3.4 trillion won, accounting for 56.4 percent of all online sales in November.

Demand for clothes jumped 31.6 percent on-year to 887.9 billion won and online sales of cosmetics surged 44.4 percent to 480.9 billion won, while online food delivery vaulted 37.1 percent to 573.1 billion won.

(END)