SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's online shopping grew in October due to strong demand for food delivery, farm goods and books, official data showed Monday.
Shopping in cyberspace edged up 0.6 percent over the year to 20.28 trillion won (14.5 billion U.S. dollars) in October, according to Statistics Korea.
The online shopping kept an upward trend, but the growth slowed from 10.6 percent in April to 5.1 percent in July and 2.2 percent in September.
The lower growth was attributed to overdue payments by two e-commerce platforms that filed for court receivership in July after failing to make payments to vendors and offer refunds to customers.
Online purchase of food and beverage spiked 17.5 percent, while demand for food delivery and agricultural products soared in double digits.
Transaction of books in cyberspace surged 24.0 percent, and those for travel and transport service, daily necessities, clothing and furniture added in single figures.
Online transaction of e-coupon services tumbled 51.0 percent amid the weaker trend to provide gifts such as coffee and cake through e-coupons, while those for backpacks, footwear, sports items, car accessories, and mobile devices declined in double digits.
Shopping through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets climbed 4.2 percent over the year to 15.42 trillion won (11 billion dollars) in October, accounting for 76.0 percent of the combined online shopping. ■
