Last Year's Offline Retail Sales Up 4.8% YoY... Government Says "Online Boosted It"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Last year, the sales of major retailers increased by 4.8% compared to the same period the previous year. Online sales grew by as much as 14.2%. The government explained that this was due to the influence of consumer culture trends that prioritize immediacy and convenience, as well as advancements in mobile technology.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 29th that after investigating the sales trends of 26 major online and offline retailers last year, online retailers (13 companies) saw a 14.2% increase compared to the previous year, while offline sales decreased by 0.9%.

The reasons for the increase in online sales included the spread of a consumer culture that values immediacy and convenience, the development of internet and mobile technologies, and strengthened delivery services, which contributed to the growth of online shopping.

Online sales brokerage and online sales increased by 15.9% and 9.9%, respectively. In 2018, they had also increased by 29.7% and 11.5% compared to the previous year, maintaining an upward trend last year as well.

Online sales brokerage benefited from enhanced consumer convenience through product recommendations, easy payment systems, and the use of mobile applications, as well as strengthened fresh food delivery services.

As a result, food sales increased noticeably by 37.4% compared to the previous year.

Online sales improved convenience through product recommendations and easy payment, leading to increased sales across most product categories.

Offline sales declined in most sectors except convenience stores. Sales at semi-large stores (SSM, -1.5%), department stores (-0.1%), and large supermarkets (-5.1%) shrank, while convenience stores increased by 4.1%.

SSMs faced intensified competition among store types, resulting in a decrease in the number of purchases (-2.1%). Food sales also declined by 1%. Department stores saw growth in overseas famous brands (18.5%), but clothing sales such as women's suits (-6%), women's casual wear (-11.1%), and men's clothing (-3.5%) decreased.

Large supermarkets, like SSMs, experienced fierce competition among store types, leading to declines in all product categories including electronics and culture (-8.5%), home and living (-5.8%), and food (-2.4%).

Convenience stores increased sales due to the continuous growth in the number of stores and changes in consumer trends. The number of convenience store outlets, which was 35,676 in December 2018, rose to 36,595 in June last year and 37,811 in December. Consumption of processed and instant foods, as well as emergency medicines, increased.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.