Data from South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy revealed a 9.2% year-over-year increase in retail sales in March, driven by strong online demand for food and daily necessities. The surge in online retail sales reached 19%, with the food sector experiencing a 19.4% increase and daily goods rising by 7.5%. Additionally, sales of online services like food delivery and electronic coupons soared by 78.3%.
Conversely, offline retail platforms saw a decline in sales by 0.2% compared to the previous year, influenced by weak consumer confidence. Notably, sales in supermarkets fell by 0.2%, while department stores experienced a 2.1% decrease.
