SEOUL, Oct 5 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s online shopping logged a double-digit growth in Aug, as the continued COVID-19 resurgence raised demand for online food delivery services, statistical office data showed today.
Shopping in the cyberspace stood at 15.77 trillion won (13.3 billion U.S. dollars) in Aug, up 16.8 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
It marked the biggest Aug reading since relevant data began to be compiled in 2001.
The double-digit increase was attributed to the COVID-19 resurgence that led to a sharp rise in online food delivery services.
In the latest tally, the country reported 1,575 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, lifting the total number of infections to 321,352. The daily caseload hovered above 1,000 since July 7.
Demand for online food delivery services surged 44.3 percent in Aug, from a year ago. The online shopping for food and beverage advanced 30.8 percent as people preferred to eat at home.
The online purchase of home appliances, electronic and communication devices gained 13.7 percent, and the figure for agricultural, livestock and fishery products soared 32.5 percent.
Mobile shopping through smartphones jumped 22.8 percent over the year to 11.46 trillion won (9.6 billion U.S. dollars) in Aug.
The mobile shopping accounted for 72.7 percent of the online shopping in Aug, up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier. It was the highest since data began to be compiled in 2013.– NNN-YONHAP
