Direct purchases of foreign goods by South Koreans are expected to reach $20 billion by 2020, data showed Sunday, with more consumers seeking bargains through overseas-based online malls.

The combined transaction volume of direct purchases came to $1.55 billion in 2014, soaring from $270 million posted in 2010, the data compiled by Hyundai Research Institute showed.

Around 70.8 percent of South Korean women made purchases through direct-trade platforms, while their male counterparts held a comparable figure of 29.2 percent.

By products, clothes accounted for 19.1 percent in 2014, followed by health supplements with 13.5 percent and shoes with 10.8 percent.

This year most direct purchases, at 74.8 percent, occurred in the United States, followed by 11.1 percent in Europe and 4.7 percent in Japan, the data showed.

While electronics goods took up 2.2 percent over the first half of 2015, the transaction volume more than doubled from a year earlier, posting a steep growth. (Yonhap)