Online shopping surpasses offline retail sales for first time in 2023

▲ This illustration depicts online shopping. (Yonhap)

retail sales-2023 tally

Online shopping surpasses offline retail sales for first time in 2023

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Online platforms accounted for more than half of the total retail sales in South Korea for the first time last year on the back of various services and technologies enabling fast and convenient orders and deliveries, the industry ministry said Tuesday.

The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers rose 6.3 percent on-year to 177.4 trillion won (US$133.35 billion) in 2023, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Sales of offline retailers rose 3 percent on-year, and those of online stores advanced 9 percent on-year.

Of the total sales, online sellers accounted for 50.5 percent, and it was the first time ever that their sales surpassed those by offline retailers.

Online shopping for daily necessities and services has become commonplace amid the COVID-19 pandemic and thanks to a wide range of apps and services, such as early morning delivery services and easy-to-use payment tools.

Of offline retailers, sales of convenience stores jumped 8.1 percent on-year in 2023, as more people purchased daily necessities near their homes, and small, packaged food and other items became more popular.

Department stores saw their sales grow 2.2 percent on-year and sales of discount chain stores and smaller supermarkets went up 0.5 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, in 2023.

Department stores accounted for 17.4 percent, or the largest share, of the total sales among offline retailers, followed by convenience stores with 16.7 percent and discount chain stores with 12.7 percent.

In December alone, retail sales rose 7.5 percent to 15.9 trillion won.

In detail, offline retailers enjoyed a 4.5 percent sales increase, and online platforms logged a 10.4 percent sales rise last month, the data showed.

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