SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's online shopping grew in single digits in July due to solid demand for food, car accessories and mobile devices, statistical office data showed Monday.
Shopping in cyberspace stood at 19.96 trillion won (14.9 billion U.S. dollars) in July, up 5.4 percent compared to the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea.
Transactions of food and beverage in cyberspace advanced 14.6 percent, while demand for agricultural, livestock and fishery products gained 15.7 percent in the cited month.
Online purchases of car accessories and mobile devices surged more than 40 percent, and those for daily necessities and food delivery services increased 11.1 percent and 8.9 percent each.
Online demand for fashion goods and books rose by double figures, but the online transaction of e-coupon services tumbled 31.0 percent amid the weaker trend to provide gifts such as coffee and cake through e-coupons.
Mobile shopping through smartphones expanded 6.9 percent over the year to 15.12 trillion won (11.3 billion dollars) in July, accounting for 75.7 percent of the combined online shopping. ■
