Online shopping up 13.7 pct on-year in Feb. amid pandemic

SEOUL, April 1 (Yonhap) -- Online shopping in South Korea rose 13.7 percent on-year in February, led by solid demand for food delivery services, electronics goods and travel services amid the pandemic, data showed Friday.

The value of online shopping transactions stood at 15.4 trillion won (US$12.6 billion) in February, compared with 13.6 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 20.4 percent on-year to 11.8 trillion won. Mobile shopping accounted for a record 76.4 percent of the total value of online shopping.

Online shopping gained traction due to the COVID-19 pandemic as more people refrained from visiting shops to avoid virus infections.

Online transactions of food delivery services rose 23 percent on-year to 2.24 trillion won in February as orders placed via mobile apps increased. Those of food and beverages went up 11 percent to 2.05 trillion won.

Online purchases of electronics goods climbed 20 percent to 1.91 trillion won due to the release of new smartphones and solid demand for online grocery shopping.

Online shopping for travel and transportation-related services advanced 35.6 percent to 784 billion won as reservations rose amid the vaccine rollout and a low base effect.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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