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In 2023, South Korea’s online shopping transactions reached nearly 230 trillion won ($172.67 billion), setting a new all-time record. The surge was attributed to the sharp increase in travel demand and the unprecedented milestone of overseas direct purchases surpassing 6 trillion won for the first time in history.
According to the “Online Shopping Trends for December 2023 and Year” released by Statistics Korea on February 1, the total value of online shopping transactions in 2023 reached 227.35 trillion won ($171.89 billion).
This is the highest number since statistics began in 2001. This figure is an increase of 8.3 compared to 209.88 trillion won in 2022%。按产品类别划分，“旅行和交通服务”的交易额较上年大幅增长44.0% trillion won.
The increase in overseas travel and other activities after the relaxation of social distancing measures is responsible for this trend. Last year, e-coupon service transactions saw a massive 34.9% increase and grocery transactions up 12.1%。相比之下，计算机及外围设备的交易量下降了-4.6%, the volume of books by -5.3%，体育和休闲用品的交易量下降了-2.1%
In terms of the proportion of categories in online shopping transactions, groceries accounted for the highest proportion at 13.1%，其次是餐饮服务，占比11.6%%.
Last year, the total amount of overseas direct purchases made through online channels was 6.76 trillion won, which was the first time that it exceeded 6 trillion won since the first statistics were made in 2014. This represents an increase of 26.9% compared to 2022.
By country, direct purchases to China surged to 3.29 trillion won, up 121.2 percent from the previous year. This represents about half of the total amount of direct purchases from overseas.
The results were analyzed as a result of China’s provision of low-cost products to domestic consumers through platforms such as AliExpress and Temu. On the other hand, the U.S., which maintains its position as the largest country in overseas direct procurement, fell by 7.3 percent from the previous year to 1.86 trillion won.
(Source: BK Image source: freepik)
