South Korea’s e-commerce retail sales are projected to reach US$ 28.5 billion in 2025, even as same store foot traffic in modern retail fell 2.0% in 2023. The market is also aging fast, with 18.1% of the population aged 65 and over and inflation at 4.0%, pushing retailers to adjust formats, pricing, and channel mix.
Key Takeaways
- 3.2% real GDP growth in 2024 for South Korea, which influences consumer spending capacity that supports retail demand
- 0.81% projected population growth in South Korea for 2025, affecting the size and structure of the retail customer base
- 18.1% of South Koreans were aged 65+ in 2023, reflecting a rapidly aging consumer base that changes retail formats and assortments
- US$ 28.5 billion projected South Korea e-commerce retail sales in 2025, indicating expected near-term growth
- KRW 55.6 trillion e-commerce retail sales in South Korea in 2023, representing the total online retail market size.
- South Korea’s retail trade value in current prices was KRW 281.0 trillion in 2022, capturing the domestic retail market size in monetary terms.
- 74% of Korean consumers used contactless payments in 2023, influencing checkout speed and payment hardware investments
- 48% of Korean retailers deployed AI for demand forecasting in 2023, improving inventory planning and reducing stockouts/overstock
- 1.6 million square meters of completed cold-chain warehousing capacity in South Korea by 2023 (cold chain inventory), supporting grocery and frozen retail fulfillment
- KRW 1.2 trillion spent on retail automation hardware and software in Korea in 2023 (industry estimate), supporting robotic picking and automation
- Mobile ad spend accounted for 62% of total digital ad spend in South Korea in 2023 (industry data), increasing mobile-driven retail promotion
- Same-store foot traffic in South Korea modern retail (department & discount) declined by 2.0% in 2023 (trade survey metric), affecting store-level performance targets
- KRW 2.5 trillion investment in digital transformation by Korean top retailers in 2023 (press-reported corporate capex), supporting omnichannel capabilities
- 52.9% of retail trade establishments in South Korea were in 1-person or 2-person businesses in 2022, reflecting a highly fragmented store base.
- South Korea had 4.1 million registered online sellers in 2023, indicating a large base of retail operators feeding e-commerce marketplaces.
South Korea’s retail demand is supported by steady growth and digital payments, while aging and e commerce reshape formats.
Related reading
01 · Category
Macro & Demographics9 stats
01
3.2% real GDP growth in 2024 for South Korea, which influences consumer spending capacity that supports retail demand
02
0.81% projected population growth in South Korea for 2025, affecting the size and structure of the retail customer base
03
18.1% of South Koreans were aged 65+ in 2023, reflecting a rapidly aging consumer base that changes retail formats and assortments
04
10.2% of South Korea’s population lived in rural areas in 2023 (100% minus urban share), influencing rural retail penetration and logistics costs
05
2.0% unemployment rate in South Korea in 2024 (latest), which influences consumer affordability and discretionary retail demand
06
68.3% employment in services in South Korea in 2023, indicating the dominant economic sector that retailers serve through consumer channels
07
4.0% CPI inflation in South Korea in 2024 (latest available in World Bank series), continuing to shape retail margin and promotion intensity
08
KRW 1,116,000 consumer price level for South Korea (PPP; index) in 2023, which links purchasing power to retail pricing baselines
09
US$ 34,792GDP per capita (current US$) in South Korea in 2023, supporting demand for modern retail formats and higher-margin categories
Interpretation
Macro & Demographics Interpretation
With South Korea’s population set to grow only 0.81% in 2025 while 18.1% of people are already aged 65+ and the unemployment rate stays at 2.0% in 2024, retailers will need to adapt their formats and assortment to a slowly growing but rapidly aging customer base supported by steady macro conditions.
02 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
US$ 28.5 billion projected South Korea e-commerce retail sales in 2025, indicating expected near-term growth
02
KRW 55.6 trillion e-commerce retail sales in South Korea in 2023, representing the total online retail market size.
03
South Korea’s retail trade value in current prices was KRW 281.0 trillion in 2022, capturing the domestic retail market size in monetary terms.
04
Retail trade value in South Korea grew by 1.8% in 2022 (real terms, YoY), indicating moderate demand expansion for retail goods.
05
Korea’s retail workforce in wholesale and retail trade totaled 6.8 million persons in 2023, indicating labor intensity and employment scale for retail supply chains.
06
Retail trade accounted for 9.3% of total services employment in South Korea in 2023, showing the sector’s weight in the broader services economy.
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
South Korea’s market size in retail is expanding steadily, with online retail sales rising to KRW 55.6 trillion in 2023 and projected to reach US$ 28.5 billion by 2025, while total retail trade was KRW 281.0 trillion in 2022 with a 1.8% real YoY growth signal for near-term demand momentum.
03 · Category
Industry Structure6 stats
01
52.9% of retail trade establishments in South Korea were in 1-person or 2-person businesses in 2022, reflecting a highly fragmented store base.
02
South Korea had 4.1 million registered online sellers in 2023, indicating a large base of retail operators feeding e-commerce marketplaces.
03
Specialized electronic/digital retailers accounted for 12.0% of large retail sales in 2023, reflecting demand for tech categories inside physical retail.
04
South Korea had 18.5 thousand convenience stores in 2022, reflecting the dense small-format network that competes with supermarkets.
05
South Korea had 4.9 thousand hypermarkets in 2022 (or equivalent large-format discount/supercenter category), indicating the scale of big-box retail networks.
06
South Korea’s number of supermarkets was 7.6 thousand in 2022, showing the breadth of mid-size grocery retail across regions.
Interpretation
Industry Structure Interpretation
In South Korea’s retail industry structure, the sector is highly fragmented, with 52.9% of retail establishments in 1 or 2 person businesses in 2022, while e-commerce scale is supported by 4.1 million registered online sellers in 2023 and a dense mix of formats including 18.5 thousand convenience stores and 7.6 thousand supermarkets.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
Mobile ad spend accounted for 62% of total digital ad spend in South Korea in 2023 (industry data), increasing mobile-driven retail promotion
02
Same-store foot traffic in South Korea modern retail (department & discount) declined by 2.0% in 2023 (trade survey metric), affecting store-level performance targets
03
KRW 2.5 trillion investment in digital transformation by Korean top retailers in 2023 (press-reported corporate capex), supporting omnichannel capabilities
04
KRW 9.0 trillion of e-commerce retail sales were via social commerce channels in South Korea in 2023, highlighting the role of social referrals in retail.
05
South Korea’s fintech-related investments in payment infrastructure totaled KRW 1.3 trillion in 2023 (capex/tech spend category), supporting retail payment innovation.
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In South Korea’s retail industry trends for 2023, mobile channels dominated with 62% of total digital ad spend while social commerce drove KRW 9.0 trillion in sales, and retailers backed this shift with KRW 2.5 trillion in digital transformation investment despite modern retail foot traffic falling 2.0%.
05 · Category
Consumption Patterns5 stats
01
KRW 2.3% of consumer spending was spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2023 (share of household consumption by function), shaping retail demand category mix.
02
KRW 1,464,000 average monthly household spending on food in South Korea in 2023, indicating the purchasing power available to grocery retail.
03
Single-person households accounted for 34.1% of all households in South Korea in 2022, indicating higher demand for convenience and smaller basket sizes.
04
Households living in apartments accounted for 56.9% of all households in South Korea in 2022, supporting dense retail delivery zones and convenient store formats.
05
Food-at-home spending accounted for 53.0% of total food spending in 2023, indicating that grocery retail remains the dominant channel for food purchases.
Interpretation
Consumption Patterns Interpretation
In 2023, food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 2.3% of household consumption and food-at-home made up 53.0% of total food spending, showing that Korean consumption patterns are still heavily oriented toward in-home grocery retail supported by average monthly food spending of KRW 1,464,000 and a high share of single-person households at 34.1%.
06 · Category
Industry Overview7 stats
01
48% of Korean retailers deployed AI for demand forecasting in 2023, improving inventory planning and reducing stockouts/overstock
02
1.6 million square meters of completed cold-chain warehousing capacity in South Korea by 2023 (cold chain inventory), supporting grocery and frozen retail fulfillment
03
KRW 1.2 trillion spent on retail automation hardware and software in Korea in 2023 (industry estimate), supporting robotic picking and automation
04
74.3% of South Koreans used online shopping at least once in 2023 (share of internet users purchasing online), reflecting strong digital commerce penetration.
05
South Korea’s cashless payment market share reached 95% of total card/consumer transactions by 2023 (share of transactions), reducing checkout friction for retail.
06
Mobile banking users in South Korea reached 55.7 million in 2024, supporting mobile-first retail payment and coupon ecosystems.
07
74% of Korean consumers used contactless payments in 2023, influencing checkout speed and payment hardware investments
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
In Korea’s retail industry, digital and automation adoption is accelerating fast, with 48% of retailers already using AI for demand forecasting in 2023 and online shopping reaching 74.3% of internet users in the same year, backed by a cashless payments share of 95% and expanding cold-chain capacity.
report visual · Comparison
Korean Retail: Digital Commerce & Payments Drive the Market
Online shopping penetration and cashless/contactless payments are very high, supporting fast-growing e-commerce retail and frictionless in-store checkout.
US$ 28.5 billion projected South Korea e-commerce retail sales in 2025, indicating expected near-term growth$28.5 billion
South Korea’s cashless payment market share reached 95% of total card/consumer transactions by 2023 (share of transactio
95%
74.3% of South Koreans used online shopping at least once in 2023 (share of internet users purchasing online), reflectin
74.3%
74% of Korean consumers used contactless payments in 2023, influencing checkout speed and payment hardware investments
74%
source-verifiedoecd.org · bok.or.kr · bis.org · statista.com2025
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Korean Retail Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/korean-retail-industry-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Korean Retail Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/korean-retail-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Korean Retail Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/korean-retail-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
38 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+22 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)