Online Shopping Jumps 13 pct in May amid Contactless Trend

The sharp increase in May was largely attributed to the pandemic that forced citizens to use online shops. (Yonhap)

SEJONG, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Online shopping jumped 13.1 percent from a year earlier in May, data showed Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic prompted more consumers to buy goods via e-commerce platforms.

The value of online transactions came to 12.72 trillion won (US$10.59 billion) in the month, up 1.46 trillion won from the same month last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

The increase followed a 12.1 percent on-year gain in April.

The sharp increase in May was largely attributed to the pandemic that forced citizens to use online shops.

Online sales of daily necessities, including sanitizer and detergent, surged 38 percent on-year to 1.16 trillion won in May.

Online purchases for offline activities, on the other hand, dropped sharply, with purchases for cultural events and tourism programs plunging 72.1 percent and 61.6 percent on-year, respectively.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices surged 21 percent on-year to 8.69 trillion won in May, accounting for 68.3 percent of overall online shopping.

(Yonhap)