South Korea’s rank in the Global Retail E-Commerce Index dropped to seventh place due to the economic slowdown, data showed Thursday.

According to the latest index by global consulting firm A.T. Kearney, Korea’s rank slipped from fifth place in the previous year.

The index analyzes nine indicators of e-commerce such as macroeconomics, consumers’ technology acceptance, shopping habits, e-commerce infrastructure and potential in 30 countries.

The United States ranked first this year, followed by China, whose market expanded but had slower growth.

European countries such as Britain (third), Germany (fifth) and France (sixth) also rose in rankings. Japan, which was placed second in 2013 also fell to fourth place.

A.T. Kearney stated that the Asian region scored lower this year due to an ongoing economic recession, despite having a large potential in online commerce.