Online shopping up 8.8 pct in July amid eased virus curbs

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- Online shopping in South Korea rose 8.8 percent on-year in July as eased COVID-19 restrictions bolstered demand for travel and leisure services, and online grocery shopping continued to grow, data showed Thursday.

The value of online shopping transactions came to 17 trillion won (US$12.6 billion) in July, compared with 15.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices increased 12.7 percent on-year to 12.9 trillion won. Mobile shopping took up 75.8 percent of the total value of online shopping.

In July, online purchases of travel services, as well as cultural and leisure services, increased, as eased virus curbs prompted people to do more outdoor activities. The trend of online grocery shopping also continued amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Online purchases of travel and transportation services also jumped 117.5 percent on-year to 1.76 trillion won.

Online shopping of cultural and leisure services soared 201.8 percent to 266.5 billion won. That of food and beverages rose 12 percent to 2.26 trillion won.

Online transactions of food delivery services declined 5.4 percent on-year to 2.25 trillion won in July. The fall came as more people chose to dine out amid increased outdoor activities.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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