SEOUL, Nov. 3 — South Korea’s online shopping grew in September due to robust demand for travel, food and e-coupon services, statistical office data showed Friday. Shopping in cyberspace amounted to 19.02 trillion won (14.4 billion U.S. dollars) in September, up 9.6 percent from the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea. Online demand for travel and transport services spiked 37.2 percent, and the online transaction of e-coupon services soared 42.8 percent amid the spread of trend to offer gifts such as coffee and cake through e-coupons. Transaction of food and beverage in cyberspace jumped 22.1 percent, and demand for food delivery services gained 7.2 percent. Mobile shopping through smartphones increased 6.8 percent over the year to 13.77 trillion won (10.4 billion dollars) in September.
Xinhua
