April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Purchases made through internet and mobile devices in Korea showed solid growth last year as use of smartphones has fully caught on with shoppers due to fast delivery and convenient payment options, government data showed on Feb. 2.

Transactions made with computers, smartphones and tablets reached 78.22 trillion won (US$72.84 billion) in 2017, up 19.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

The total amount of mobile transactions soared 34.7 percent to 47.83 trillion won thanks to rising sales of pet supplies, furniture and foods.

Mobile transactions accounted for 61.1 percent of all online purchases last year, surpassing 60 percent for the first time since the data has been compiled.

Mobile purchases in Korea have been on a steep rise for years as smart devices expand their presence in the world‘s most wired country and rapidly replace computers as the means of conducting online transactions.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)