통계청 10월 온라인 거래 10조원 돌파<br /><br />The amount of online and mobile shopping transactions hit record highs in October surpassing the nine-billion U.S. dollar mark for the first time.<br />A trend driven mainly by the development of digital payment systems... and more working days compared to the same period last year.<br />Kim Ji-yeon breaks down the digits for us. <br />Data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday show the amount of online and mobile shopping transactions increased by 36-percent on year in October to register more than nine-billion U.S. dollars.<br />Purchases in food and beverages rose the most by nearly 50-percent,... followed by cosmetics, winter apparel, electronics, and home appliances.<br />The statistics agency attributed the surge of sales in cosmetics to the growing influx of Chinese tourists coming to Korea, as a great percentage of them bought goods online in Korean duty free shops ahead of their visit.<br />Mobile shopping transactions also jumped by nearly 44-percent on-year to nearly five-point-six-billion dollars. In particular, the food delivery sector saw the most transactions.<br />An official from the statistics agency cited the ongoing rise of one-person households and the development of safer and more convenient digital and biometric payment systems as major reasons for the surge. <br />Subsequently, the number of public holidayswas also an important factor, as food deliveries significantly decrease on major holidays like Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving Day.<br />Transactions of goods and services related to culture and leisure activities, meanwhile, saw a drop on-year in October.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News. <br />
