In brief
In the July‑September quarter, South Korea’s online direct overseas sales climbed 40.7% year‑on‑year to 1.09 trillion won—the highest third‑quarter level since 2020—driven largely by a 90.5% jump in duty‑free cosmetics sales. Meanwhile, total online direct overseas purchases fell 6.3% to 1.99 trillion won, a decline attributed to the strong U.S. dollar. The Ministry of Data and Statistics noted double‑digit growth in sports and leisure purchases but double‑digit drops in clothing, fashion, and cosmetics.
South Korea’s online direct overseas sales in the July‑September quarter surged 40.7% year‑on‑year to 1.09 trillion won (US$810.5 million), the highest third‑quarter figure since 2020, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics reported by Xinhua.
Duty‑free cosmetics contributed the bulk of the jump, rising 90.5% to 371.7 billion won as the product line captured 306.0 billion won of that total.
Overall online direct overseas sales, however, fell 6.3% year‑on‑year to 1.99 trillion won, the second consecutive quarterly contraction, with the strong U.S. dollar cited as a key factor.
Within the broader category, cosmetics led overall online sales at 636.3 billion won, followed by clothing and fashion items at 92.3 billion won and music, video and instrument sales at 84.4 billion won.
While purchases of sports and leisure goods saw double‑digit growth, those for clothing, fashion and cosmetics dropped by double digits.
