Online Shopping Sales Grow

written by 10206 Kim Min Chae

As COVID-19 continues, the time people stay at home and the time people work from home increases, people prefer non-face-to-face shopping than going to the mart directly. 

Sales at online shopping malls increased. Daily necessities and grocery sales increased. Food sales went up 92.5% as demand for online shopping rose. The sales of living and furniture jumped 44.5%. Online market sales surged. 

On the other hand, sales of large mart or supermarket fell 10.6% since people were scared of being infected. In particular, the clothing sales fell 46.5%. This downfall was due to people not buying as much as in the past because people stayed home. Most people did not want to buy anything unnecessary.

General merchandise sales were hit hard. Their sales fell by 41.5%. This decrease was because people did not have the extra money to splurge since they worked fewer hours or were laid off.

Department stores suffered from their sales declining to 21.4%. Their total sales fell by 33% due to a shortage of customer visits. 

With the surge in online orders, companies’ sales related to online shopping also showed the same growth. Distribution companies’ sales expanded by 16.9% compared to the previous year. 

The fashion changes from offline to online were massive before COVID-19 occurred, but the changes were accelerated. 

The sales of fashion and miscellaneous goods declined as people were reluctant to go out. But sales of household, food and other essential products increased. 

The people related to this online area said, “The increase in online sales from COVID-19 will not be a short-term phenomenon, but a starting point of a change in the consumption paradigm.” 

COVID-19 changed people’s lifestyles rapidly, which changed the perspective of consumption by product. People are buying the necessities due to their current income or situation.