S.Korea's online shopping posts double-digit growth in January

2021-03-05 05:35:40 GMT2021-03-05 13:35:40(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

SEOUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's online shopping posted a double-digit growth in January as the COVID-19 pandemic led people to purchase goods and services in the cyberspace, statistical office data showed Friday.

Shopping in the cyberspace amounted to 15.1 trillion won (13.3 billion U.S. dollars) in January, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

It was attributed to the prolonged pandemic that encouraged people to shop in online stores.

Online food delivery services surged 90.3 percent in January on a yearly basis, and purchase for food and beverage in the cyberspace advanced 53.1 percent.

The online purchase of home appliances, electronic and communications devices jumped 65.3 percent, marking the highest increase since data began to be compiled in 2013.

Online demand for the culture and leisure services and the travel and transport services plunged 79.6 percent and 68.2 percent each in the month.

Mobile shopping through smartphones soared 29.2 percent over the year to 10.6 trillion won (9.4 billion U.S. dollars) in January.

It accounted for 70.5 percent of the total online shopping, topping the 70-percent mark for the first time. Enditem

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