Retail sales growth South Korea 2016-2023
In 2023, retail sales in South Korea grew by 6.3 percent compared to the previous year. Online retail sales recorded about 9 percent of the growth that year, while offline retail sales also continued to increase after negative growth rates during the last years.
Retail channels
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of online retailing was accelerated, leading to a major increase in online retail sales in 2020. At the same time, offline retail suffered from social distancing measures and people staying at home in order to avoid meeting other people. However, in 2021 retail sales showed growth in both categories, likely due to pent-up demand. Department stores were the offline retail channel that reported the largest growth that year, with a sharp increase in monthly sales.
Most popular items
The product group with the highest share in retail sales was food and groceries, making up for over a third of sales. As with other consumer goods, shopping for groceries online has become a trend. Other popular product groups were home appliances and culture. As people stayed at home more often and for longer periods of time, the expenses for home appliances online have grown accordingly.
