The Seoul Myeongdong street, where the 2024 Korea Sale Festa (hereinafter referred to as KOSF) is held in November. /Yonhap News

Sales of major online and offline retailers in the country increased by 8%. This seems to be the result of the 'Korea Sale Festa' (hereinafter referred to as 'Kosepe'), a Korean version of Black Friday, which somewhat thawed the frozen consumer sentiment over the month of November.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported that the total sales of 23 major online and offline retailers last month amounted to 16 trillion won, an 8% increase compared to the same month last year. Offline sales, including those from large supermarkets, department stores, corporations-style supermarkets (SSMs), and convenience stores, increased by 3.9%. The Ministry explained that this was influenced by promotional events such as the November Kosepe and an extra holiday compared to last year.

In particular, total sales at large supermarkets rose by 5.7%. The demand for home cooking has increased during this period of high inflation, and food sales, including for making kimchi, rose by 10.2%. Additionally, sales in medium-sized stores saw a 7.5% increase in food sectors, leading to an overall sales rise of 6.8%.

Online sales increased by 11.8% compared to the same month last year. The trend of purchasing processed foods, ready-to-eat meals, food delivery services, travel products, and e-coupons online has expanded, with increases in the food (19.1%), living and home (6.1%), and service and other (70.7%) institutional sectors. However, due to the rise in direct purchases from overseas online malls such as AliExpress, sales for electronics and fashion and clothing among online retailers dropped by 9.9% and 9.1%, respectively.