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Retail sales up over 9 percent in March on strong performance of e-commerce

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 13:48

Delivery trucks of e-commerce giant Coupang are pictured in this file photo taken Feb. 26. [YONHAP]

Korean retailers saw their sales gain more than 9 percent from a year earlier in March on robust online demand for food and daily necessities, data showed Tuesday.

Last month, the combined revenue of major retail companies rose 9.2 percent from a year ago, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The ministry said the increase is mainly attributable to strong demand for e-commerce deliveries in food and daily shopping sectors and other services.

Sales from the online sector increased 19 percent on year as revenue from the food sector rose 19.4 percent and revenue from the daily necessities sector expanded 7.5 percent.

Sales from online services, such as food delivery and e-coupons, spiked 78.3 percent.

On the other hand, offline platforms saw their revenue decrease 0.2 percent on year in March, affected by weak consumer sentiment.

In particular, supermarket sales went down 0.2 percent, and sales from department stores dropped 2.1 percent.

Yonhap