Ministry Reports November Retail Sales Trends
Offline Up 2.9%, Online Up 5.3%
Department Stores and Convenience Stores See Five Consecutive Months of Growth
Driven by Premiumization and Customization Strategies
Last month, retail sales showed an increase of over 4%. The government attributes this to a recovery in consumer sentiment.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on December 23 that, in November 2025, major retailers (13 offline and 10 online companies) saw offline sales rise by 2.9% and online sales by 5.3%, resulting in a total sales increase of 4.2% compared to the previous year.
Offline sales increased at department stores (12.3%), convenience stores (0.7%), and semi-large supermarkets (0.8%) compared to the previous year, while hypermarkets (-9.1%) saw a decline.
An official from the Ministry explained, "Department stores, which are transforming into experiential spaces with premiumization strategies amid recovering consumer sentiment, experienced significant growth driven by winter fashion, global luxury brands, and food. Convenience stores continued a five-month streak of growth, offering fun and value through pop-up stores and customized product development, with processed foods and small-packaged ingredients at the center of this trend."
Hypermarkets showed weak performance again after just one month due to negative growth in the food sector, which accounts for a large portion of their sales. Semi-large supermarkets saw a slight increase in sales for the first time in four months, mainly driven by kimchi-making vegetables.
Online sales growth slowed to single digits for the second consecutive month, as the base effect from sustained double-digit growth since 2024 took hold.
By product category, offline sales growth was led by department stores' global luxury brands (23.3%), fashion and accessories (3.4%), and children's and sports goods (3.2%). The mainstay category for hypermarkets, food (-1.3%), declined.
The number of offline stores increased for semi-large supermarkets (2.4%) compared to the previous year, but decreased for hypermarkets (-0.5%), department stores (-3.4%), and convenience stores (-2.2%). Sales per store rose for department stores (16.3%) and convenience stores (3.0%), but fell for hypermarkets (-8.6%) and semi-large supermarkets (-1.6%).
Online, the food (15.8%), cosmetics (10.2%), and home & living (4.2%) sectors grew, while the service & other category (3.0%), which had posted over 50% growth from last year through the first half of this year, is now showing a slowdown in the second half due to the base effect.
In offline channels, the number of purchases decreased at hypermarkets (-8.4%), convenience stores (-1.9%), and semi-large supermarkets (-0.4%), but increased at department stores (0.3%), resulting in an overall decline of 2.2%. The average purchase amount per transaction decreased at hypermarkets (-0.7%), but increased at department stores (12%), convenience stores (2.6%), and semi-large supermarkets (1.1%), leading to an overall rise of 5.2%.
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