통계청 10월 온라인 거래 10조원 돌파
The amount of online and mobile shopping transactions hit record highs in October surpassing the nine-billion U.S. dollar mark for the first time.
A trend driven mainly by the development of digital payment systems... and more working days compared to the same period last year.
Kim Ji-yeon breaks down the digits for us.
Data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday show the amount of online and mobile shopping transactions increased by 36-percent on year in October to register more than nine-billion U.S. dollars.
Purchases in food and beverages rose the most by nearly 50-percent,... followed by cosmetics, winter apparel, electronics, and home appliances.
The statistics agency attributed the surge of sales in cosmetics to the growing influx of Chinese tourists coming to Korea, as a great percentage of them bought goods online in Korean duty free shops ahead of their visit.
Mobile shopping transactions also jumped by nearly 44-percent on-year to nearly five-point-six-billion dollars. In particular, the food delivery sector saw the most transactions.
An official from the statistics agency cited the ongoing rise of one-person households and the development of safer and more convenient digital and biometric payment systems as major reasons for the surge.
Subsequently, the number of public holidayswas also an important factor, as food deliveries significantly decrease on major holidays like Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving Day.
Transactions of goods and services related to culture and leisure activities, meanwhile, saw a drop on-year in October.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
