| Visitors are seen at a department store in Seoul, April 5, 2021. Retail sales in Korea rose 10.6 percent year-on-year in April on the back of growing demand for fashion-related items and luxury goods amid eased antivirus curbs. Yonhap |
Retail sales here rose 10.6 percent year-on-year in April on the back of growing demand for fashion-related items and luxury goods amid the easing of antivirus curbs to support people's return to normalcy, the industry ministry said Monday.
The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.6 trillion won ($10.86 billion) last month, up from 12.9 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Sales from offline stores rose 10.2 percent to 7.01 trillion won, with demand for children's items and sporting goods surging 29.6 percent, and luxury goods, 22.5 percent.
Fashion and other related items also saw their sales rise 16.6 percent, while the services sector enjoyed 16.3 percent year-on-year growth, the data showed.
The growth is mainly attributable to the lifting of social distancing rules, which led to an increase in outdoor activities, as the Omicron-driven COVID-19 pandemic has receded, according to the ministry.
In April, the government lifted most strict antivirus regulations, such as business curfews and the cap on private gatherings. All schools resumed in-person classes, and many firms ended their remote working policies.
Among offline retailers, department stores saw their sales jump 19.1 percent on rising demand for clothing and items mainly for children.
Convenience store sales rose 10.9 percent thanks to solid demand for snacks and toys, and those of discount chain stores, such as E-mart and Lotte Mart, also inched up 2 percent.
But smaller supermarkets saw their sales fall 1.8 percent on-year, the ministry said.
However, sales from online platforms also climbed 11 percent from a year earlier in April.
On online platforms, sales of cosmetics and foodstuff went up 18.6 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively, year-on-year last month.
Online platforms accounted for 48.4 percent of the total sales for April, slightly up from 48.3 percent a year earlier, the data showed. (Yonhap)