Offline Retail Sales Increased by 14% in February... Lunar New Year and New Semester Boost

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Due to the late Lunar New Year holiday and increased demand for the new school semester, offline retail sales surged last month, marking the largest growth in over three years.

According to the "February Major Retailer Sales Trends" announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 25th, offline retailer sales increased by 14.3% compared to the same period last year. This is the largest increase since February 2018 (15.1%).

After a decline from November last year through January this year, sales turned to an upward trend after three months. The Lunar New Year, which was in January last year, shifted to February this year, leading to a shift in holiday gift demand and a rise in sales. The relaxation of the Kim Young-ran Act, which temporarily raised the gift value limit for agricultural, livestock, and marine products from 100,000 won to 200,000 won, along with demand for new semester supplies, also contributed to the sales increase.

By business type, only corporate supermarkets (SSM) saw sales decrease by 19.2%, while department stores (39.6%), large discount stores (15%), and convenience stores (2.1%) all experienced growth. In particular, department stores saw a significant increase in sales across all sectors, including food (66%), children & sports (54.4%), and overseas famous brands (45.7%), driven by increased sales of high-end holiday gifts and expanded demand for entrance gifts and school supplies ahead of the new semester.

Online sales last month also rose by 5.5% compared to a year earlier, driven by the spread of non-face-to-face consumption culture and increased holiday gift orders. This simultaneous increase in both online and offline sales is the first in four months since October last year. However, the growth rate slowed somewhat due to the exceptionally high online sales growth rate (34.3%) in February last year caused by COVID-19.

Sales in the food (16.7%) and service & others (13.4%) sectors increased due to holiday gift orders and food delivery/coupon gifts, and strong sales in home appliances & electronics (10.9%) continued.

Total sales combining both offline and online increased by 10% compared to the same period last year, marking the highest growth rate since January 2019 (10.6%).

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