Q4 Last Year Purchases Surpass 1 Trillion Won
Direct Purchases from Japan Increase Due to Yen Depreciation
In the fourth quarter of last year, the purchase amount of overseas direct purchases from China surpassed 1 trillion won, overtaking the United States.
According to the '2023 4th Quarter Online Overseas Direct Sales and Purchase Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 1st, the purchase amount of overseas direct purchases in the fourth quarter of last year was 1.9639 trillion won, a 46.1% increase compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.
China increased by 161.1%, from 408 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 1.0656 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year. Its share of the total purchase amount also accounted for more than half at 54.2%. Oceania also increased by 34.3%, and Japan increased by 3.1%.
On the other hand, ASEAN decreased by 16.9%, from 20.3 billion won to 16.8 billion won during the same period. The United States barely increased by 0.4%, from 462.8 billion won to 464.5 billion won, falling behind China.
By product category, clothing and fashion-related products led the increase in overseas direct purchases with 918.5 billion won, a 67.3% increase, and household and automotive products also recorded 132.7 billion won, an 82.5% increase. Food and beverages also increased by 8.4% to 375.9 billion won.
On an annual basis, China's dominance in overseas direct purchases was also prominent. The online overseas direct purchase amount in 2023 was 6.7567 trillion won, a 26.9% increase compared to the previous year. By region, the United States recorded 1.8574 trillion won, a 7.3% decrease compared to 2022, but China recorded 3.2873 trillion won, a 121.2% increase. Direct purchases from Japan also increased by 11.0%.
By item, agricultural, livestock, and fishery products decreased by 19.8%, but clothing and fashion-related products recorded 3.0905 trillion won, a 43.5% increase, and overseas direct purchases of household and automotive products (35.9%) and sports and leisure products (65.5%) also increased.
This appears to be influenced by the recent spread of 'low-price consumption' due to high inflation, along with the expansion of overseas direct purchase services by Chinese online shopping malls such as AliExpress and Temu. Jung Eun-jung, head of the Service Industry Trends Division, said, "The strong drive in online shopping from China has had an impact," adding, "The increase in overseas direct purchases from Japan may also be influenced by exchange rates."
While online overseas direct purchases from China increased significantly last year, online overseas direct sales to China decreased. The online overseas direct sales amount in 2023 was 1.6561 trillion won, a 10.1% decrease compared to the previous year. By region, sales increased by 11.1% in the United States but decreased by 12.6% in China and 15.2% in Japan. Due to the K-food boom, sales of food and beverages increased by 46.5%, but cosmetics (-6.8%), clothing and fashion-related products (-10.9%), and books (-56.4%) decreased.
However, looking only at the fourth quarter of last year, overseas sales to China increased, centered on duty-free shops. The online overseas direct sales amount in the fourth quarter of last year was 468 billion won, a 32.6% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and especially, duty-free shop sales increased by 84.3% to 280.4 billion won. Direct sales to China amounted to 300.4 billion won, with direct sales through duty-free shops accounting for 261.5 billion won, representing 93.3% of the total.
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