South Korea’s online shopping market recorded a 4.1 percent year‑over‑year rise in September, driven primarily by purchases of automobiles and food‑delivery services, Yonhap reported on Monday.
The Ministry of Data and Statistics tracked total e‑commerce sales at 24.97 trillion won ($18.7 billion) for September, up 975.8 billion won from a year earlier. The increase reflected a 4.1 percent surge compared to September 2025, according to Yonhap’s reporting of the ministry’s data.
Mobile‑device sales—including smartphones and tablets—topped 19.08 trillion won and accounted for 76.4 percent of the total e‑commerce turnover. Mobile transactions rose 5.4 percent from a year earlier, up one percentage point in share, Yonhap noted.
Spending on automobiles and related products jumped 30.9 percent year‑on‑year to 1.27 trillion won, Yonhap said, marking the sector as the single largest contributor to the month’s sales growth.
Food‑delivery services also saw a 4 percent increase, reaching 3.78 trillion won in September, Yonhap reported. The rise in this category was attributed to a sustained demand for at‑home meal options during the holiday season.
Cosmetic product sales climbed 12.2 percent to 1.29 trillion won, Yonhap added, indicating a broader growth in discretionary online purchases beyond the highlighted categories.
The ministry’s figures show that the bulk of online shopping growth in September was concentrated among a few high‑ticket categories, most notably automotive, while core retail staples remained comparatively stable. Yonhap highlighted that these shifts mirror broader trends in consumer behaviour toward convenience and mobile commerce.
Automation and delivery integration were key themes in Yonhap’s analysis, as consumers increasingly combine vehicle purchases with ancillary services facilitated through digital platforms. The data thus underscore the expanding role of e‑commerce in sectors traditionally dominated by in‑person transactions.
Mobile‑device dominance continues to shape the South Korean e‑commerce landscape. With 76.4 percent of transactions conducted on smartphones and tablets, the market demonstrates the persistent preference for on‑the‑go purchasing, a point echoed in Yonhap’s assessment of the sector’s trajectory.
Overall, the 4.1 percent month‑over‑month growth in September, driven by high‑value categories such as automobiles and delivered services, points to continued resilience in South Korea’s digital retail ecosystem amid a gradual return to normalcy in consumer spending.
