Online retail drives South Korea's 6.4% July sales growth

Department store sales rose across all categories.

South Korea’s total sales at 26 major retailers—15 brick-and-mortar and 11 online retailers—rose 6.4% year on year in July, with offline sales up 3.2% and online sales up 8.5%.

During the month, sales shares by channel were 60.8%for online retailers, 15% for convenience stores, 14.1% for department stores, 8.1% for hypermarkets, and 2.1% for SSMs.

According to the Ministry of Trade, offline sales increased at department stores (+17.9%) and convenience stores (+1.1%), whilst hypermarkets and Super Supermarkets (SSMs) declined.

Department store sales rose across all categories, including premium brands, vacation-related goods, and cooling appliances.

Hypermarket sales fell YoY for the fifth consecutive month, and SSM sales declined for the eighth consecutive month.

However, the YoY decline in SSM food sales eased from 10.6% in June to 2.5% in July.

Moreover, online sales rose, with the services/other category (+17.5%) recording growth in delivery services, travel, and cultural products.