Food delivery services drive 7.3 percent rise in online shopping sales in July

Online shopping sales in Korea moved up 7.3 percent in July from a year earlier led by stronger demand for food delivery services, data showed Tuesday.

The value of online shopping transactions came to 25 trillion won ($18.26 billion) in July, up 1.7 trillion won from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It was the second-largest volume since related data was compiled under the current methodology in 2017. The record stands at 25.5 trillion won, which was posted in March.

The report showed spending on food delivery services moved up 8.9 percent to 3.8 trillion won.

Spending on automobiles and related products also shot up 31.1 percent to 960 billion won amid the popularity of imported cars.

Spending on food products, including agricultural and fishery goods, rose 9.3 percent to 4.8 trillion won.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 6.4 percent from a year earlier to 19.6 trillion won. They accounted for 78 percent of total sales, down 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier.

Yonhap