Online shopping rises 16.8 pct in Aug. amid pandemic

SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- Online shopping in South Korea grew 16.8 percent from a year earlier on solid demand for food delivery services and foodstuffs amid the protracted pandemic, data showed Tuesday.

The value of online shopping transactions stood at 15.8 trillion won (US$13.3 billion) in August, compared with 13.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

The August reading fell from a record high of 16.2 trillion won in July, but the value of online shopping reached more than 15 trillion won for the sixth straight month.

Amid an economic recovery and tougher virus restrictions, online purchases of goods and services gained ground, led by demand for foodstuffs, food delivery and electronics goods, the agency said.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 22.8 percent on-year to 11.5 trillion won in August. Mobile shopping accounted for 72.7 percent of the total value of online shopping.

Online transactions of food delivery services rose 44.3 percent on-year to 2.4 trillion won, and those of food and beverages gained 30.8 percent to 2.15 trillion won.

Purchases of electronic goods increased 13.7 percent on-year to 1.86 trillion won thanks to demand for home appliances.

Online shopping of travel-related services inched up 0.8 percent to 803 billion won in August.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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