Telecommunications Device Transactions Surge 53.9% in February
Food Services Also on the Rise Thanks to Free Delivery
In February, online shopping transaction volume exceeded 21 trillion won, marking the highest ever for the month of February. In particular, due to the influence of the Galaxy S25 series launched by Samsung Electronics at the beginning of the year, the transaction volume of the telecommunications device category increased to around 780 billion won, setting a new record.
According to the 'February 2025 Online Shopping Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 1st, online shopping transaction volume in February reached 21.0616 trillion won, a 3.5% increase compared to the same month last year. This is the largest scale for February since related statistics began in 2017.
By product category, the impact of the Timf (Timon·Wemakeprice) incident that started in July last year continued this year, with a notable decrease in e-coupon service transactions (-48.5%). Bags (-14.7%) and cultural and leisure services (-15.5%) also declined.
On the other hand, food services (10.9%), telecommunications devices (53.9%), and food and groceries (8.3%) increased. In particular, telecommunications device transactions reached 786.8 billion won, the highest amount for February since related statistics began in 2020. The composition ratio of transaction volume by product category was food services (14.7%), food and groceries (13.4%), and travel and transportation services (12.6%) in order.
A Statistics Korea official explained, "Telecommunications devices saw a significant increase in transaction volume due to the launch of new smartphone models from late January to early February," adding, "Food services continue to grow in both user numbers and transaction amounts as delivery platform companies maintain free delivery policies and competition continues."
Among online shopping, mobile shopping transaction volume increased by 3.8% to 16.1308 trillion won. The share of mobile shopping transaction volume within online shopping rose by 0.2 percentage points to 76.6% compared to 76.4% in the same month last year.
By product category, mobile shopping transaction volume decreased in e-coupon services (-39.4%) and cultural and leisure services (-29.1%). However, food services (11.2%), food and groceries (10.7%), and telecommunications devices (47.1%) increased.
The composition ratio of mobile transaction volume by product category was highest in food services (19.0%), food and groceries (13.8%), and travel and transportation services (11.7%).
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