Seoul: Online shopping sales in South Korea rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to a new monthly high in December, driven by strong sales of Tesla vehicles and rising demand for food services, government data showed Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the value of online shopping transactions stood at 24.29 trillion won (US$16.68 billion) in December, up 1.42 trillion won from a year earlier, based on data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. This figure marked the highest level since 2017, when the ministry began compiling the data.

Spending on automobiles and auto accessories surged 66.4 percent from a year earlier, supported by strong sales of Tesla models sold through online ordering systems. Sales in the food services sector climbed 9.1 percent from a year earlier, largely due to promotional campaigns by food delivery platforms. Additionally, sales of food and beverages jumped 10.2 percent on-year, the data showed.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to 18.8 trillion won, also setting a new record. Mobile-based shopping accounted for 77.4 percent of total online sales in December, unchanged from a year earlier, the data indicated.