Last Month Seoul Consumer Sentiment Index Down 1.4%... "Decrease Margin Slightly Reduced"

Seoul Institute Announces 'Seoul Consumer Sentiment Index'
Increase in Accommodation and Food Service Consumption

Seoul Consumer Sentiment Index and Year-on-Year Trend for December Last Year (Provided by Seoul Institute)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] In December of last year, the Seoul Consumer Sentiment Index decreased by 1.4% compared to the same month the previous year.

The Seoul Institute announced on the 4th the 'Seoul Consumer Sentiment Index' for December last year, based on big data from card sales.

Last month, the Seoul Consumer Sentiment Index showed a slightly smaller decline compared to November last year (1.7%). This is interpreted as a result of a slight reduction in the decline within retail sectors and continued consumption growth in accommodation and food service sectors in December following November.

Although the accommodation and food service sector saw a shift from increase to decrease last month in pubs and coffee specialty shops, consumption in accommodation and food service sectors continued to increase in December following November, maintaining the recovery trend.

By region, the downtown area saw a slowdown in the growth rate but consumption still increased, while other regions continued to experience sluggish consumption, though the rate of decline was reduced compared to last month.

Dr. Jo Dal-ho, Research Fellow at the Citizen Economy Research Office, explained, "In December 2019, Seoul's consumer sentiment saw a somewhat smaller decline than the previous month due to strong consumption in home appliances, information and communication, and accommodation sectors," but added, "The decrease in spending on clothing, textiles, and footwear, along with sluggish non-store retail sales, prevented a full recovery from the downward trend."

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