South Korean online grocery shopping outpaces every other major developed country, according to an industry report.

Industry tracker Kantar Worldpanel says 16.6 per cent of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in Korea between June 2015 and June 2016 were conducted via online and mobile channels.

That’s a huge lead over Japan, which came in second with 7.2 per cent, followed by the UK with 6.9 per cent, France with 5.3 per cent and Taiwan with 5.2 per cent, the report showed.

For the US, the share of e-commerce represented just 1.4 per cent, Kantar Worldpanel said. However, it believes that with initiatives from Amazon and more established grocery retailers, the region is likely to catch up quickly.

South Korea also ranked the highest in terms of the percentage of households that buy online FMCG products at least once a year.

Industry watchers attributed the broadened digital shopping experience by South Koreans to an aggressive expansion of online-based fresh food delivery services by key e-commerce companies and related startups.

The growing number of single-person households is another factor that has fueled the demand for online grocery shopping here, observers added.

• Originally reported by Korea Bizwire, via Yonhap.