South Korea Retail Sales Edge Up in May

Retail sales in South Korea rose by 2.7% month-over-month in June 2026, accelerating from a 0.1% rise in the previous month and marking the strongest growth since January. The increase was largely driven by higher sales of durable goods, particularly automobiles. On a year-on-year basis, retail sales increased by 4.2% in June, the fastest rise in three months and up from a downwardly revised 1.5% gain in the preceding period. As a key gauge of private consumption, the latest figures suggest household spending gained solid momentum at the end of the second quarter, providing a positive signal for domestic demand.

Retail sales in South Korea edged up by 0.1% month-on-month in May 2026, rebounding slightly from a downwardly revised 3.5% drop in the previous month, which had marked the steepest decline since July 2020. The modest recovery was largely driven by higher sales of vehicle fuel and cosmetics. On a year-on-year basis, retail sales increased by 1.7% in May, following a 1.6% rise in the preceding period. As a key gauge of private consumption, the figures indicate that household spending regained some momentum in May, though the modest monthly increase suggests consumer demand remained relatively subdued.

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.