IT, children’s items top list of mobile purchases

As mobile shopping becomes more popular, retailers are striving to pinpoint mobile shoppers’ preferred items.

IT-related items topped men’s mobile shopping lists at Auction from January through November while a range of household and children’s products were women’s top picks, according to Auction, a leading e-commerce site operated by eBay Korea.

Women’s top 10 list included diapers, household items and children’s clothes while men preferred to buy laptops, smartphone, bicycles and automobile components.

But for men and women, fresh produce was the most purchased item on mobile devices, which shows the evolution of shopping habits.

In recent years, Koreans’ mobile and online purchases have been dominated by clothes and books.

But as retailers improve their packaging and distribution systems, more groceries have become available online and have quickly gained popularity.

“Fresh produce is something that people buy regularly,” said Park Hee-Je, director of Auction’s marketing division. “So, the fact that groceries are the top seller means that mobile shopping has become part of people’s daily lives.”

“We look closely at how shoppers use their apps and we try to take into consideration particular shopping practices when we design the platform for our mobile application.”

The online retailer recently created a separate section for fresh produce on its home page.

The latest data on mobile shopping from Statistics Korea also reflects its popularity.

The amount spent on mobile device transactions hit a record of 3.88 trillion won in the third quarter, a 124.5 percent increase over the same period last year.

In the same quarter, mobile shopping took up 34 percent of all online purchases, compared to 30.3 percent in the second quarter. In the third quarter last year, mobile purchases accounted for 17.9 percent of all online shopping.

Earlier this year, G-Market, another e-commerce site run by eBay Korea, released consumer data comparable to the Auction report.

G-Market said that men often bought cameras and other electronics while women bought more concert tickets and books.

The data is based on the average amount of money spent by G-Market buyers on certain items from January through October.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [ejpark@joongang.co.kr]