Football fans gather on the main street of Gwanghwamun in central Seoul to cheer for the national team in a match against Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in this Nov. 24, 2022, file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Retail sales in South Korea grew 8.4 percent on-year in November on the back of major shopping events and growing demand for foodstuff and other items during the World Cup, the industry ministry said Thursday.
The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.8 trillion won (US$11.66 billion) last month, compared with 13.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It marked the ninth consecutive month of an on-year rise, with the growth being expanded from the previous month’s on-year gain of 7.3 percent, the data showed.
Sales from offline stores advanced 8.5 percent to 7.18 trillion won in November as the country held the annual Korea Sale FESTA — the Korean equivalent of Black Friday — for 15 days beginning Nov. 1, in which more than 2,000 companies offered big bargains.
Convenience stores enjoyed 13.8 percent sales growth on the back of strong demand for smaller packages of food and the increase in the number of their outlets.
Sales at discount chain stores, such as E-mart and Lotte Mart, jumped 9.2 percent on-year, and smaller supermarkets also saw their sales rise 7.1 percent on-year as demand for food rose amid high inflation and during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar from Nov. 20 through Dec. 18.
Department stores saw their sales go up 3.7 percent thanks to various shopping events, though their growth slowed due to dwindling demand for clothing amid warmer weather, according to the ministry.
Overall, food, luxury goods and service items led the sales growth at offline stores, the ministry said.
Sales from online platforms advanced 8.3 percent on-year to come to 7.6 trillion won last month over the continued spread of the contactless shopping trend and promotional events.
Among categories, tourism and other services enjoyed a 30.7 percent jump in sales on rising outdoor activities amid the mild weather. Demand for food also increased 17.6 percent, and that of cosmetics went up 16.1 percent on-year, the data showed.
Online platforms accounted for 51.4 percent of total sales in November, slightly down from 51.5 percent a year ago, according to the ministry.
(Yonhap)
