South Korean retail sales up after Covid-19

South Korean retail sales rose by 2 percent during May, largely due to increased online shopping, according to the new Ministry of Trade figures.

The year-on-year increase was strongly influenced by purchases of food and sanitary items online due to the effect of social-distancing requirements related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry polled 26 major retailers in both online and offline categories to collect the data, which showed combined sales of US$9.65 billion last month, an increase of over $9.506 billion during the same period last year.

Online platforms saw a 13.5-per-cent revenue rise during the period, with online sales of food increasing almost 39 percent, and daily items and furniture going up 22.7 percent. Offline shopping – with the exception of convenience stores – continued to show a decline, with a 6.1-per-cent drop in sales.

Year-on-year sales figures for last year showed an increase of 4.8 percent over 2018.