Online shopping up around 10 pct in June amid eased virus curbs

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- Online shopping in South Korea rose around 10 percent in June from a year ago as the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions boosted demand for travel and leisure services and food, data showed Monday.

The value of online shopping transactions came to 16.8 trillion won (US$12.9 billion) in June, up 10.4 percent from 15.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 15.8 percent on-year to 12.4 trillion won. Mobile shopping took up 74 percent of the total value of online shopping.

On April 18, South Korea lifted most COVID-19 restrictions, except the mask mandate in closed environments, in a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life.

In June, online purchases of travel services, as well as cultural and leisure services, more than doubled from a year ago as eased virus curbs increased people's outdoor activities.

Online purchases of travel and transportation services also jumped 102 percent on-year to 1.65 trillion won, the most since August 2019.

That of cultural and leisure services soared 121.6 percent to a record high of 276.4 billion won.

Online shopping for food and beverages rose 16.8 percent to 2.22 trillion won as more people bought groceries online during the pandemic.

Online transactions of food delivery services rebounded in June from a month earlier, as hot weather and frequent rains raised demand for food delivery.

In June, online purchases of food delivery services increased 4.6 percent on-year to 2.06 trillion won. In May, they declined for the first time since 2017, as more people chose to dine out amid increased outdoor activities.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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