Reaching a three-year high, sales of duty-free in South Korea rose by over 50 per cent in April, signalling the industry’s steady recovery.
Combined sales at duty-free shops in Asia’s fourth-largest economy increased 51.6 per cent year-on-year for April, according to data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). These numbers represent the largest monthly growth since they reached 54.6 per cent back in May 2018. In separate data by the Korea Duty Free Shops Association, the April duty-free sales stood at 1.56tn won ($1.4bn).
“April sales made a steep increase on the baseline effect, considering how much the (duty-free) industry faltered last year,” said an official of Korea Statistics, the operator of the KOSIS. “However, the data can be seen as an indicator of the ongoing recovery in consumption,” he continued.
In April last year, the combined sales of local duty-free shops shrank 9.2 per cent on-month to 986.7bn won, largely as the number of visitors to duty-free outlets plunged amid the spreading new coronavirus pandemic.
