Food
Major South Korean retailers saw their sales soar in January from a year earlier, driven by convenience stores and supermarket chains, government data shows.
Combined sales for department stores, large outlets and online malls gained 8.3 per cent for the month, snapping a slide for three straight months, according to figures from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Brisk sales and particularly soaring demand during the Lunar New Year holiday in late January helped boost sales, says the ministry.
Sales by convenience stores surged 15.5 per cent year-on-year, followed by those of supermarkets with an 11.3 per cent gain. Department stores saw their sales rise 4.6 per cent.
More “lone diners” – people who prefer to live and eat alone – has in part fuelled sales of prepared meals at convenience stores and frozen dishes at supermarkets, says the ministry.
Convenience stores saw sales of instant meals, such as microwavable lunch boxes, hike 35.1 per cent, while the number of such stores grew by 13.3 per cent in the same period.
Food sales by supermarket chains also helped boost growth with an 18.5 per cent gain.
In contrast, online social commerce sites saw their sales inch down 0.1 per cent in January, largely because of increased marketing costs amid fierce competition. Online retailers overall saw their combined sales edge up 6 per cent for the month.
