Supermarkets saw the smallest sales increase among retailers during the first quarter of the year affected by rising consumer prices and the increase in the number of other forms of retailers.

According to Statistics Korea, the combined first quarter sales of supermarkets in the country rose 3.4 percent to about 5.9 trillion won ($5.6 billion), while other types of retailers saw double-digit growth rates.

Convenience stores, by comparison, saw their sales for the period rise by 18.8 percent, while that figure for department stores increased 14.8 percent from the first quarter of last year. Over the same period, discount stores saw an increase of 10.4 percent, while retailers operating without stores such as Internet shopping malls saw their sales increase by 14 percent.

The figure for retailers in general increased 10 percent from a year ago to come in at 72.1 trillion won.

(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)