South Korea's online shopping business has grown rapidly in recent years, helped along by the coronavirus pandemic. Online shopping in South Korea hit 16.19 trillion won in July, the highest since statistics began in 2001 and up 105.1 percent from four years ago, according to statistics Korea.

Monthly online shopping transactions in South Korea topped 10 trillion won (55.1 billion yuan) in October 2018 and 15 trillion won (82.6 billion yuan) in November last year, data showed, The Korea Herald reported Thursday. Over the past four years, the online shopping volume of agricultural products, livestock products and aquatic products has increased by 242%, groceries and food and beverage products by 223%, and online food delivery and takeout products by 961%.

The express delivery system has strongly supported the rapid development of South Korea's online shopping business. According to the Korea Herald, goods are now delivered within one to three days, and in some areas within 10 hours.

Another noteworthy phenomenon is that in recent years, more and more South Koreans aged 60 and above have joined the online shopping army. "Senior citizens are the main consumers of big-ticket items," including luxury goods, high-end air conditioners and televisions, said a retail services analyst.

However, according to the Korea Herald, there are also some problems in South Korea's online shopping format, such as the monopoly of some large websites that provide payment platforms, the widening gap in sales between large and small online merchants, and some small online merchants cannot afford the service fees for consumers to use credit cards.