SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's online shopping rose in single digits in November last year owing to surging demand for cars in cyberspace, statistical office data showed Friday.
Shopping in cyberspace grew 6.8 percent over the year to 24.16 trillion won (about 16.74 billion U.S. dollars) in November, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The growth was attributable to soaring online purchases of models from the U.S. carmaker Tesla. The online sale of cars and car accessories surged 35 percent in the cited month.
Transactions of food and beverage, food delivery service and agricultural, livestock and fishery products in cyberspace mounted in double digits, while online demand for travel and transport service, clothing, daily necessities, cosmetics and computers gained in single figures.
Online demand for mobile devices jumped 22.2 percent, while online transactions of e-coupon service expanded 4 percent amid a recovering trend to provide gifts such as coffee and cake through e-coupons.
Shopping through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets climbed 7.9 percent over the year to 18.59 trillion won in November, accounting for 77 percent of the total online shopping. ■
