Food and electronics popular as retail sales jump 8.4 percent in Oct.

Retail sales in Korea increased 8.4 percent in October from a year earlier on the back of the pandemic and consumption-boosting events, data showed Monday.

The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.01 trillion won ($10.7 billion) last month, up from 11.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Online platforms led the overall growth, with their revenue advancing a whopping 17.2 percent over the period, as people continued to purchase daily necessities from home amid the resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

Sales of foodstuffs from online shops jumped 42.1 percent on-year in October, while those of electronics climbed 27.9 percent. Sales of furniture and other consumer goods moved up 18.6 percent over the period, according to the data.

Revenue from tour packages and concert tickets, however, dropped 18.1 percent amid the country's social distancing scheme.

Sales from offline stores, meanwhile, also edged up 2.1 percent over the cited period as people took advantage of various discount events from department stores and supermarkets, the data showed.

Local convenience stores saw their sales move up 2.9 percent on year in October on brisk sales of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.

Sales from department stores advanced 4.2 percent, with those of outdoor equipment rising 10.2 percent on the back of discount events.

Over the period, sales from supermarkets increased 2.3 percent as well on electronics and toys, the data showed.

In 2019, retail sales in Korea rose 4.8 percent on year. The revenue of online shopping malls advanced 14.2 percent, while that of offline stores shed 0.9 percent.

Yonhap