
Retail sales in South Korea rose 8 percent in November from a year earlier on the back of the annual Korea Sale Festa, the country's version of Black Friday, data showed Monday.
The combined sales of 23 major offline and online retailers reached 16 trillion won ($11 billion) last month, up from 14.8 trillion won a year ago, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Sales from offline stores increased 3.9 percent, with revenue from supermarkets rising 5.7 percent, bolstered by the annual "gimjang" tradition in November, which involves making large quantities of kimchi in preparation for the cold winter.
Department stores saw their sales rise 1.4 percent due to higher demand for imported luxury goods. Sales at convenience stores climbed 5.1 percent, fueled by demand for both food and non-food products.
Online store sales surged 11.8 percent, supported by strong demand for services, such as food delivery and travel packages, which increased 70.7 percent on-year.
However, online sales of electronics and fashion items declined 9.9 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively, as more consumers opted to purchase such items directly from overseas platforms.
The online segment accounted for 53 percent of total retail sales in November compared with 51.2 percent a year earlier, the data showed. (Yonhap)