S. Korea's September online shopping grows 4.1 pct on demand for autos, food-Xinhua - 新华网

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's September online shopping grew in single digits, driven by strong demand for automobiles, food delivery services and agricultural products, statistical ministry data showed Monday.

Online shopping gained 4.1 percent over the year to 24.97 trillion won (about 18.6 billion U.S. dollars) in September, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

By product category, online sales of home appliances and electronics declined 7.0 percent, but sales of automobiles and car accessories surged 30.9 percent amid soaring online purchases of models from the U.S. automaker Tesla.

Online shopping for food delivery services and agricultural, livestock and fishery products climbed 5.9 percent and 9.7 percent each.

Shopping through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets increased 5.4 percent from a year earlier to 19.08 trillion won in September, accounting for 76.4 percent of the total online shopping.

Mobile purchases for clothing fell 7.9 percent, but mobile sales for food delivery services, agricultural, livestock and fishery products, and travel and transportation services swelled 6.0 percent, 15.2 percent and 8.7 percent each. ■