Foreigners made more online purchases in 2015

South Korea’s online sales to foreign customers nearly tripled last year from a year earlier on the back of rising demand from Chinese consumers, a report showed Thursday.

South Korean retailers sold an estimated $130 million worth of goods to overseas customers through their websites, up from $44.6 million the previous year, according to the report by the state-run Korea Development Institute. 

E-commerce exports have been on a sharp rise since 2010, when it posted $2.1 million.

The KDI report showed that 42.2 percent of the online sales to overseas customers was to Chinese consumers, while 21.1 percent was from Singapore-based shoppers and 17.1 percent from the United States.

“China is a vital component in Korea’s e-commerce exports, and its importance is likely to increase in the coming years,” the KDI report said.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)