Seoul: Online shopping sales in South Korea saw a 10 percent increase from the previous year in May, primarily driven by a rise in demand for foodstuffs and cosmetics, as indicated by recent data.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the value of online shopping reached 25 trillion won (approximately US$16 billion) in May, which is an increase of 2.3 trillion won compared to the same month the previous year, based on data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. This figure represents the second-highest monthly total since the government began collecting such data in 2017, with the all-time high of 25.5 trillion won recorded in March.

Spending on food products, including agricultural and fishery goods, experienced a 12.5 percent rise, reaching 4.8 trillion won. Meanwhile, expenditure on cosmetics saw a significant 36.6 percent increase, totaling 1.56 trillion won. Additionally, sales of food delivery services rose by 10.2 percent from a year earlier, amounting to 3.8 trillion won.

Conversely, spending on travel and transportation services decreased by 3.4 percent to 2.75 trillion won, a reflection of elevated airfares due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Purchases made through mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, also grew by 9.7 percent from the previous year, totaling 19.2 trillion won. These mobile purchases accounted for 77.1 percent of the total sales, which is a slight decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year.