Online sales reach a record high of 10.7 trillion won in Jan.

The total value of online shopping in Korea reached a record high in January, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things ranging from clothes to electronic goods.

Total online transactions reached 10.7 trillion won ($9.4 billion) in January, up 17.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The reading was the highest since January 2001, when the statistics office started collecting data on online shopping.

In January, sales of electronic goods and computers rose 22.1 percent on year to 1.68 trillion won, demand for clothes jumped 8.2 percent to 1.11 trillion won, and online sales of food and beverages surged 38.7 percent to 1.18 trillion won.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets soared 27.7 percent on year to a record 6.81 trillion won, accounting for 63.7 percent of all online sales in January.

Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world, with one of the highest smartphone penetration rates.

Yonhap