Overseas Direct Purchases Surpass 2 Trillion Won in Q3... China Leads with 1.4 Trillion Won

[Financial News] In the third quarter of this year, the value of online overseas direct purchases exceeded 2 trillion won. Purchases from China, which account for the largest share, saw a significant increase. This trend is attributed to the growing use of Chinese commerce platforms such as AliExpress and Temu for direct purchases.
According to the 'Q3 Online Overseas Direct Sales and Purchase Trends' released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on the 3rd, overseas direct purchases reached 2.1224 trillion won, up 9.2% from the same period last year. Overseas direct purchases have increased for 11 consecutive quarters compared to the previous year.
By region, China accounted for 1.4141 trillion won (66.6% of the total), followed by the United States with 347.9 billion won (16.4%) and Japan with 150.3 billion won (7.1%). Compared to the same period last year, purchases from the US decreased by 16.0%, while those from China (up 19.9%), Japan (up 9.1%), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (up 30.3%) increased. Compared to the previous quarter, purchases from the European Union (EU) rose by 7.4%, while those from China (down 3.5%) and the US (down 2.8%) decreased.
By product category, online overseas direct purchases were led by apparel and fashion-related products at 892.7 billion won, followed by food and beverages at 393.5 billion won, and household and automotive goods at 211.2 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, purchases of sports and leisure goods decreased by 11.0%, but apparel and fashion-related products (up 7.2%), food and beverages (up 11.0%), and cosmetics (up 20.7%) increased. Compared to the previous quarter, purchases of computers and peripherals increased by 25.8%, while apparel and fashion-related products (down 7.4%) and food and beverages (down 0.7%) decreased.
On the other hand, overseas direct sales in the third quarter reached 694.3 billion won, up 7.8% from the same period last year. By region, online overseas direct sales amounted to 250.3 billion won for China, 186.4 billion won for the US, and 161.4 billion won for Japan. Compared to the same period last year, sales to China decreased by 11.6%, while sales to the US (up 28.1%), Japan (up 16.0%), and ASEAN (up 16.4%) increased. Compared to the previous quarter, sales to the US increased by 4.1%, while sales to China (down 29.1%) and Japan (down 8.0%) decreased. Duty-free sales amounted to 173.3 billion won for China, 12.8 billion won for ASEAN, and 4.4 billion won for Japan.
By product category, online overseas direct sales were led by cosmetics at 379.9 billion won, followed by apparel and fashion-related products at 80.2 billion won, and music, video, and instruments at 67.6 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, sales of household and automotive goods decreased by 26.6%, while cosmetics (up 5.4%), food and beverages (up 50.6%), and music, video, and instruments (up 14.0%) increased. Compared to the previous quarter, sales of apparel and fashion-related products increased by 1.8%, while cosmetics (down 18.1%) and music, video, and instruments (down 22.0%) decreased.
Meanwhile, online shopping transactions in September totaled 23.7956 trillion won, up 13.3% (2.7993 trillion won) from the same month last year. This is the highest figure since statistics began in January 2017. Compared to the same month last year, cultural and leisure services decreased by 8.2%, while automobiles and automotive goods (up 136.4%), food and beverages (up 17.7%), and travel and transportation services (up 12.0%) increased. The eCoupon Service, which had turned to growth in August for the first time in 14 months, increased by 1.9% year-on-year. The negative trend in eCoupon Service transactions, which continued from July last year to July this year due to the TMON and Wemakeprice incidents, appears to have normalized.

junjun@fnnews.com Choi Yong-jun Reporter