SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's online shopping rose in single digits in October owing to surging demand for cars in cyberspace, statistical office data showed Monday.
Shopping in cyberspace grew 4.9 percent from a year earlier to 22.71 trillion won (15.4 billion U.S. dollars) in October, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The growth was attributable to soaring online purchase of models from the U.S. carmaker Tesla. The online sale of cars and car accessories jumped 38.6 percent in the cited month.
Transaction of food delivery service and agricultural, livestock and fishery products in cyberspace mounted in double digits, while online demand for food and beverage, travel and transport service, and clothing added in single figures.
Online transaction of e-coupon service jumped 21.5 percent amid a recovering trend to provide gifts such as coffee and cake through e-coupons.
Shopping through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets gained 5.9 percent over the year to 17.71 trillion won (12.0 billion dollars) in October, accounting for 78.0 percent of the total online shopping. ■
