[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Last year, the transaction amount of online shopping surpassed 200 trillion won for the first time ever, setting a record high. Payments for online travel services and leisure services nearly doubled compared to the previous year.
According to the 'December 2022 and Annual Online Shopping Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 1st, last year's online shopping transaction amount was 206.4916 trillion won, an increase of 10.4% compared to the previous year. Since the statistics began in 2001, the online shopping transaction amount surpassed 200 trillion won for the first time, breaking the record high.
By product category, service transaction amount (55.6945 trillion won) increased the most significantly by 25.7%. Transactions for travel and transportation services rose by 93.5%, and cultural and leisure services increased by 97.9%, respectively.
The transaction amount for e-coupon services, including mobile 'gift sending' services such as Gifticons, also increased by 19.5%, setting a new record high. However, the transaction amount for food services, which involves ordering food delivery online, only increased by 1.4% compared to the previous year.
A Statistics Korea official analyzed, "Although the online shopping transaction amount continues to increase, the growth rate is gradually slowing down as social distancing measures due to COVID-19 have been lifted after a long period of growth."
Last year's mobile shopping transaction amount was 153.6776 trillion won, increasing by 13.4%, also setting a record high. As of the fourth quarter of last year, online shopping transaction amount (54.9021 trillion won) and mobile shopping transaction amount (40.2607 trillion won) also recorded their highest levels.
The online shopping transaction amount in December (18.7423 trillion won) increased by 5.2% compared to the same month of the previous year. The 2022 online overseas direct purchase amount was 5.324 trillion won, up 4.1% from the previous year, reaching a record high.
Overseas direct purchases mainly increased from China (11.2%) and Japan (29.8%). By product category, direct purchases of clothing and fashion-related products (8.6%) and food and beverages (7.4%) mainly increased, while home appliances, electronics, and telecommunications devices (-18.3%) decreased. Overseas consumers' purchases from domestic online shopping malls, known as 'reverse direct purchase,' decreased by 58.1% compared to the previous year.
A Statistics Korea official explained, "In the case of overseas reverse direct purchases, the target country is mostly China, but due to continued lockdown measures caused by COVID-19 last year, Chinese buyers' purchases of cosmetics and other products were sluggish."
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