South Koreans' direct purchases from foreign countries fell on-year for the first time in 2015 due to unfavorable exchange rates and efforts to stimulate domestic consumption through large promotional sales events, the government said Wednesday.

According to the Korea Customs Service, direct purchases of foreign goods reached $1.52 billion last year, down 1.4 percent from over $1.54 billion tallied in 2014.

The drop is noteworthy because direct purchases of goods by South Koreans have been growing by double digits in recent years.

In 2011, they surged 72 percent on-year, with annual growth usually hovering around 50 percent.

The customs agency said the drop stemmed from the strengthening of the U.S. dollar compared with the Korean won last year, and concerted efforts by retailers and the government to stimulate domestic consumption by holding a series of discount events like the K-Sale and the Korea Grand Sale.

The average exchange rate for last year stood at 1,131.49 won to the greenback, the highest reached since 1,156.26 won to the dollar in 2010.

"A strong dollar makes buying goods abroad more expensive, especially since most overseas direct purchases are with U.S. retailers and producers," the KCS said. 

Direct purchases from the United States accounted for 73 percent of all goods bought by South Koreans, with Europe and Japan coming in at 13 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

The agency said that while the U.S. market share was unchanged from the year before, the pace of growth fell sharply. 

Direct purchases from China, whose yuan appreciated vis-a-vis the won, experienced a sharp drop in market share from 10 percent to 3 percent.  

Besides exchange rates, the agency said the difference in clothing size and difficulty in returning defective products hurt consumer demand. 

Such complaints offset moves by the government to raise the amount of products that can be purchased abroad without the need to pay duties. In the past, this stood at $100 per shipment, but the amount was raised to $150 starting last year.

By products, health-related food and clothing each accounted for 16 percent of all direct purchases, with cosmetics and shoes making up 11 and 10 percent, respectively. 

The latest report showed that people in their 30s and 40s accounted for 77 percent of all direct purchases made, with women more likely to order products from abroad than men.

The KCS, meanwhile, said that while direct purchases dipped in value terms, actual imports inched up 2 percent to 15,863 shipments from 15,530 the year before. (Yonhap)