In the first half of this year, major offline sales of retail companies recorded a decline for the first time in five years since the COVID-19 period. In contrast, online retail sales showed double-digit growth.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the sales of major retail companies in the first half of the year recorded 93.1 trillion won, an increase of 7.8% compared to the same period last year.
Offline sales in the first half decreased by 0.1%. This is due to a decline in all sectors except for special occasions in January and Family Month in May. It is the first time that offline sales have retreated since 2020. In contrast, online sales increased by 15.8%, showcasing their resilience.
Due to factors such as decreased consumer sentiment, the substitution of online purchases, and the continued decline in the number of stores and visiting customers (purchase count), sales decreased for large supermarkets (-1.1%) and convenience stores (-0.5%). However, thanks to increased luxury consumption, department stores (0.5%) saw a slight increase in sales. In terms of items, most categories, except for luxury goods (2.9%), experienced negative growth.
Online sales recorded high growth mainly in services (38.7%), food (24.1%), and home essentials (11.9%). Fashion and clothing (-0.8%) saw a decline, but cosmetics (9.0%) continued their strong growth.
In the case of food (9.5%), online sales (24.1%) grew, while offline sales (-0.2%) showed a decline.