SEOUL, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Online shopping among South Korean consumers logged a double-digit gain in February on demand for food delivery services and the purchase of air purifiers amid severe air pollution, a government report showed Wednesday.
Shopping in the cyberspace amounted to 9.6 trillion won (8.5 billion U.S. dollars) in February, up 16.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
It came amid the continued growth in food delivery orders using smartphones. Online food delivery services surged 90.2 percent in February from a year ago.
The online purchase of home appliances and telecommunication devices jumped 30.7 percent on soaring demand for air purifiers caused by the serious pollution of fine dust that blanketed the entire country in the month.
Purchase in the cyberspace of computer and peripherals also posted a double-digit increase in February on demand to renew and upgrade existing computers.
The portion of mobile shopping to the total online shopping was 64.4 percent in February, the highest ever recorded on the changing social trend of buying things through smartphones.
Mobile shopping advanced 26 percent over the year to 6.18 trillion won (5.4 billion U.S. dollars) in February.
