South Korea Retail Sales Rebound in June

Retail sales in South Korea fell 3.6% month-on-month in April 2026, reversing an upwardly revised 1.9% rise in the previous month. It marked the steepest decline since July 2020, as sales of nondurable goods, such as gasoline, fell 1.1%. Additionally, sales growth in consumer durables slowed sharply to 1.6% in April from a 15.2% surge in March. Sales of semidurable goods, such as clothing, remained unchanged from a month earlier, while sales of durable goods, including computers, dropped 11.1%. By contrast, sales in the information and telecommunications segment surged 4.3%. On a year-on-year basis, retail sales increased 1.6% in April, slowing sharply from 5.0% growth in the preceding period, which was the strongest since January 2022.

Retail sales in South Korea rose by 1.8% month-on-month in March 2026, rebounding from a revised 0.3% fall in the previous month. The recovery was largely driven by increased sales of consumer durable goods, particularly communication devices, computers and home appliances. On a year-on-year basis, retail sales grew by 5% in March, the sharpest since January 2022 and accelerating from a 4.3% rise in the preceding period. As a key gauge of private consumption, the data signals a renewed pickup in household spending momentum toward the end of first quarter, reversing February’s weakness and pointing to firmer near-term domestic demand.

South Korea’s retail sales were unchanged in February from the previous month, following a 2.9% increase in January, which marked the fastest expansion in three months. Sales declined for semidurable goods such as clothing, while purchases of food and beverage products increased. As a key gauge of private consumption, the flat reading points to stable momentum in consumer spending at the start of the year.