South Korea retail sales climbs 4.7% in February

Online sales during the month offset the decline seen in offline sales.

Total retail sales in South Korea rose 4.7% in February, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy reported.

The industry saw sales in brick-and-mortar stores decline by 3.8%, attributed to limitations in outdoor activities due to the Omicron outbreak. This was offset by the 14.2% increase seen in online sales, the Ministry said.

Department stores and convenience stores each registered increases of 9.3% and 7.4% in sales, but hypermarkets saw a steep decline of 24%, whilst sales in super supermarkets dropped 8.4%.

Moreover, the sale in hypermarkets were dragged by food products (down 28.7%), home and living (down 24.1%), and miscellaneous goods (down 20.5%).

Likewise, sales in department store chains were dampened by food products, which went down 30.3%. Outside food products, all other categories, including foreign designer labels, women’s suits, and kids/sports, increased in sales.

Meanwhile, the sales in convenient store chains were driven by growth across all categories, including daily necessities (up 4.8%), miscellaneous goods (up 3.8%), and processed foods (up 7.1%). The number of stores also expanded with 2,363 new stores since Feb 2021, further contributing to the overall growth.

SSMs, however, dropped as it saw sales across all categories decline, including agricultural products (down 16.2%), daily necessities (down 10.2%), daily miscellaneous goods (down 3%), processed foods (down 2.3%), and fresh/cooked products (down 2%).