Hi there,
Due to popular demand for my previous post about “South Korea e-commerce landscape” back in 2016, I am updating it with the latest data points from Mar 2019 here. I hope you enjoy the updated version.
This post is part of the series about South Korea that I have been writing in 2019. I updated this post with the latest information available in 2020: key facts about South Korea e-commerce 2020.
You can find other posts here:
8 key facts about South Korea Mobile Game industry
South Korea subscription video on demand (SVOD) : key facts and trends
South Korea digital marketing landscape (updated 2019)
1. South Korea is amongst the top 5 in the world in terms of retail e-commerce sales revenue
![Retail Ecommerce Sales south korea china japan us uk dec 2018](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-south-korea-china-japan-us-uk-dec-2018.png)
South Korea ranks 3rd in the world for retail e-commerce penetration
![Retail Ecommerce Sales Penetration south korea china and g7 countries 2019](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-Penetration-south-korea-china-and-g7-countries-2019.png)
2. From growth perspective, South Korea e-commerce growth rate is on par with G7 economies but much lower than China
![Retail Ecommerce Sales Growth south korea china g7 countries 2019](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-Growth-south-korea-china-g7-countries-2019.png)
3. About 2/3 of retail e-commerce in South Korea happens on mobile, which makes South Korea ranks number 4th in the world in terms of retail M-commerce sales penetration
![Retail Mcommerce Sales Penetration south korea dec 2018](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Retail-Mcommerce-Sales-Penetration-south-korea-dec-2018.png)
4. South Korea ranks number 10th in the world in terms of digital buyer penetration
![Digital Buyer Penetration by country dec 2018](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Digital-Buyer-Penetration-by-country-dec-2018.png)
5. South Korean really buy a variety of products/services online from travel to food, household goods, clothing, furniture, pet products etc
![B2C ecommerce sales in south korea by product service category q3 2017 Q3 2018](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/B2C-ecommerce-sales-in-south-korea-by-product-service-category-q3-2017-Q3-2018-516x1024.jpg)
6. Top mobile e-commerce in South Korea are all local players
![top mobile ecommerce platform in south korea dec 2018](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/top-mobile-ecommerce-platform-in-south-korea-dec-2018.jpg)
7. South Korea ranks number 3rd for Proximity Mobile Payment user penetration in the world
![south korea ranks 3 in proximity mobile payment penetration feb 2019](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/south-korea-ranks-3-in-proximity-mobile-payment-penetration-feb-2019.jpg)
8. Top mobile payment apps in South Korea are Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, Samsung Pay
![](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/top-mobile-payment-app-in-south-korea-jan-2018.jpg)
9. South Korean online shoppers mostly buy foreign products/services from the US and Europe (around 70% of total sales)
![south korean online shopper buy mostly from the US and Europe Feb 2019](https://www.chandlernguyen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/south-korean-online-shopper-buy-mostly-from-the-US-and-Europe-Feb-2019.jpg)
10. Biggest shopping holiday seasons in South Korea : Korea Sale FESTA (KSF) and Winter Holiday Season
That’s it from me.
Cheers,
Chandler
One comment