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Online shopping hits record high in August amid Tesla sales surge

Published: 01 Oct. 2025, 14:18 Updated: 01 Oct. 2025, 14:40

A Tesla model 3 is pictured inside a showroom in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 31. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Online shopping sales in Korea increased 6.6 percent from a year earlier to a record high for any August, driven by strong sales of Tesla vehicles and rising demand for food orders, data showed Wednesday.

The value of online shopping transactions stood at 22.48 trillion won ($15.56 billion) in August, up 1.39 trillion won from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It marks the highest figure for any August since 2017, when the ministry began compiling the data. Formerly known as Statistics Korea, the agency was reorganized into the ministry under the recent government restructuring.

The growth was led by an increase in automobiles and auto parts, which jumped 55.1 percent from a year earlier amid strong sales and higher deliveries of Tesla's models, which are sold through an online order system.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, Tesla sold 7,974 units in August, including the Model Y, maintaining its position as the top imported car brand for the second straight month after selling 7,357 units in July.

Sales of food services and food and beverages went up 9 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, in August amid the growing popularity of online grocery shopping and intensified competition among delivery platforms.

E-coupon services also grew 8.6 percent on year, marking the first increase in 13 months.

In terms of the share of total online shopping transactions, food orders accounted for the largest portion at 16.6 percent, followed by groceries at 14.3 percent and travel and transportation services at 13.1 percent.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices increased 8.9 percent to 17.85 trillion won.

Mobile gadget-based shopping accounted for 79.4 percent of total online sales in August, up 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier, the data showed.

Yonhap