Korea’s online shopping sales rise 10 percent in May on stronger food, cosmetics demand 

Online shopping sales in Korea moved up 10 percent from a year earlier in May, driven mainly by higher demand for foodstuffs and cosmetics, data showed Wednesday.

The value of online shopping came to 25 trillion won ($16 billion) in May, up 2.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It marked the second-highest monthly figure since the government began compiling the data in 2017. The record remains 25.5 trillion won, posted in March.

Spending on food products, including agricultural and fishery goods, rose 12.5 percent to 4.8 trillion won, while spending on cosmetic products increased 36.6 percent to 1.56 trillion won.

Sales of food delivery services climbed 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 3.8 trillion won, the data showed.

Spending on travel and transportation services, on the other hand, fell 3.4 percent to 2.75 trillion won, reflecting higher airfares following the Iran war.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 9.7 percent from a year earlier to 19.2 trillion won. They accounted for 77.1 percent of total sales, down 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier.

Yonhap