Sales at department stores, discount retailers up in June

South Korea's major department stores and discount chains saw their sales rise in June from a year earlier due to an increase in holidays, government data showed Thursday.

The combined sales of three department stores -- Hyundai, Lotte and Shinsegae -- increased 11.8 percent on-year last month, while those of major discount retailers -- E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Home Plus -- edged up 0.9 percent during the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The ministry said sales went up as the number of holidays increased by one day from a year earlier.

Sales at convenience stores jumped 18 percent on-year last month, boosted by a dramatic rise in food sales, mostly instant food. Convenience stores have retained double-digit growth rates since the last quarter of 2014 amid rising single-person households.

The number of single-person households was estimated at 5,061,000 in 2015, 7.7 times higher than 661,000 households in 1985, according to the report by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

Meanwhile, sales at super supermarkets, mostly run by large retailers, slid 7.8 percent on-year, the data added. (Yonhap)