Sales growth at South Korea's major discount outlets and department stores slowed in May due to weak demand for groceries and sports products, a government report showed Thursday.
Total sales at the country's three leading discount outlets, including E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, rose 2.4 percent in May from a year earlier, down from a 4.6 percent on-year expansion the previous month, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement.
The slower growth was mainly attributable to sluggish demand for groceries, which accounted for 51.4 percent of total sales last month, according to the ministry. Grocery sales grew 4 percent on-year in May, down from a 5.7 percent on-year advance a month earlier.
Sales growth of sports-related products eased to 2.7 percent on-year in May from 9.4 percent in April, with clothing sales growth slowing to 0.1 percent last month from 5 percent the previous month.
Meanwhile, total sales at the three major department stores, such as Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai, expanded 8.7 percent in May from the previous year, after posting a 15.1 percent on-year gain a month earlier, according to the ministry.
Sales of groceries rose 8.2 percent in May from a year earlier, with luxury goods sales jumping 21.1 percent last month. The number for clothing, household goods and miscellaneous goods all rose in May compared with the previous year, but the gain was slower than an increase tallied for April.