Koreans Embrace Mobile Shopping

The total value of purchases made through mobile phones hit a record in November 2015.

According data from Statistics Korea on Monday, the amount of mobile transactions surged 52.3 percent on year to W2.44 trillion (US$1=W1,190).

That is almost half of the total online purchases in November, which also hit a record of W4.97 trillion, up 19.5 percent compared to the same month of 2014.

Online purchases accounted for 15.4 percent of total retail sales.

By product, purchases of office supplies and stationery surged 132.7 percent and 138 percent, respectively, perhaps ironically using new-generation technology to pay for the products it is gradually replacing.

Sales of cosmetics and groceries also surged 38.2 percent and 35.4 percent.

By retail sector, sales at convenience stores rose 33.8 percent compared to the average 4.2-percent rise in overall retail sales, while sales at supermarkets and department stores more or less stagnated.