SEOUL, July 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Consumers struggling with surging prices are increasingly limiting their purchases of products other than essential goods like food.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported that last month’s offline retailer sales went up by 10.1 percent, while sales in the home appliances and culture sectors dropped by 9.7 percent.
At large malls, in particular, sales of home appliances and culture goods have seen an overall downturn except in February, when they grew by 0.5 percent.
A local mall saw sales of televisions, refrigerators, kitchenware and other home appliances shrink between June 1 and July 14.
Sales of interior design goods have also dropped. Sales of blackout curtains and blinds, typically popular during the summer, dropped by 9.1 percent.
In the meantime, sales of domestic fruits like watermelons, peaches and plums rose by 14.4 percent and sales of beef by 16.4 percent.
Sales of facial tissues and detergent jumped by 4.2 and 13.7 percent, respectively, despite price increases.
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