South Korea’s retail sales increase in October

South Korea’s retail sales increased 6.4 per cent year-on-year in October amid higher demand for food items and daily necessities.

The combined sales of 25 major offline and online merchants grew to 15.3 trillion won (US$11.87 billion) during the month from last year’s 14.4 trillion won, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) data showed.

Online sales grew 12.6 percent to 7.95 trillion won attributed to an increase in bulk economy-size purchases and strong demand for travel packages and outdoor autumn season activities-related items.

Online food products sales rose 23.4 per cent while sales of cosmetic products and living/furniture items increased 21.5 per cent and 16.9 per cent, respectively.

However, online fashion/clothing sales dropped 3.7 per cent while sporting goods sales slid 4.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, offline sales climbed 0.5 percent to 7.36 trillion won, led by a 6.8 per cent rise in sales at convenience stores. Sales at super supermarkets advanced 3.1 percent.

On the other hand, sales at hypermarket chains dropped 4.1 per cent as sales of innerwear and miscellaneous goods fell 10.5 per cent. Home/living, home appliances/culture sales at hypermarkets also declined 5.6 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

Sales at department store chains went down 2.6 per cent as sales declined across all categories except women’s casual, which grew 1.0 per cent.