A person shops at a supermarket in Seoul, April 12. Yonhap
Online shopping sales in Korea jumped more than 10 percent in April to reach an all-time high for any April on rising sales of food items amid inflation, data showed Monday.
The value of online shopping transactions stood at 19.83 trillion won ($14.4 billion) in April, up 10.5 percent, or 1.89 trillion won, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
It marked the largest amount ever for any April.
The growth was led by rising demand for food and beverages, which jumped 18 percent on-year to 2.77 trillion won, as retailers launched various promotional campaigns.
Sales of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products also soared 26.2 percent on-year to 990.9 billion won in April as the government provided discount coupons and subsidies to help people struggling with high prices.
Online shopping for home appliances and other electronic devices jumped 13.1 percent to 1.27 trillion won amid early hot weather, the agency said.
Demand on online platforms for travel and transportation services also advanced 14.7 percent and that for culture and leisure services went up 18.9 percent in April.
Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices increased 11.9 percent on-year to 14.8 trillion won, accounting for 74.8 percent of the total online sales, the data showed. (Yonhap)