South Korea Retail Sales Drop the Most Since 2020

2026-05-28 23:05 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

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.



News Stream
South Korea Retail Sales Drop the Most Since 2020
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.
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