Online shopping hits record high in Q2 amid pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in the second quarter as more people used e-commerce shopping platforms amid a contactless trend caused by the pandemic, data showed Wednesday.

The value of online shopping transactions stood at 46.9 trillion won ($40.8 billion) in the April-June period, up 25.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

Amid an economic recovery and a non-contact consumption trend, online purchases of goods and services gained ground, led by demand for foodstuffs, food delivery and electronics products, the agency said.

In June, the value of online shopping transactions gained 23.5 percent on-year to 15.7 trillion won.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 30.1 percent on-year to 11 trillion won in June. Mobile shopping accounted for 70.2 percent of the total value of online shopping.

Online transactions of food delivery services jumped 57.3 percent on-year to 1.97 trillion won in June, and those of food and beverages rose 35.7 percent to 1.96 trillion won.

Purchases of electronic goods increased 17.6 percent on-year to 1.79 trillion won on the back of demand by stay-at-home people.

Online shopping of travel-related services rose 35.7 percent to 824 billion won in June due largely to last year's low base and increased activity amid warm weather. (Yonhap)