Sales at major department stores here rose in October amid a nationwide sales event, but major discount outlet chains suffered a slight drop in sales, government data showed Thursday.
  

The combined sales of three major department store chains -- Hyundai, Lotte and Shinsegae -- surged 11.4 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
  

The large on-year gain was partly attributed to the government-initiated spending promotion campaign, dubbed Black Friday Korea, which ended Oct. 14.
  

"Department stores posted a double-digit increase in their sales for the first time this year last month helped by large-scale promotional events that greatly pushed up sales of clothing and home appliances," the ministry said in a press release.
  

Such sales events have apparently helped attract more people.
  

In October, the total number of purchases at department stores spiked 11.3 percent from the same month last year, while the average amount of each purchase only inched up 0.1 percent, according to the ministry.
  

Sales at discount outlet chains, on the other hand, slipped 0.5 percent on-year in October, a sharp shift from a 7-percent gain the previous month.
  

The total number of purchases at three major discount outlet chains -- E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart -- dropped 1.4 percent on-year while the average amount of each purchase gained 0.9 percent.
  

Sales at convenience stores continued to grow by a large margin, spiking 35.1 percent on-year last month.
  

Sales of super supermarkets, mostly run by large retailers, slipped 3.6 percent on-year, the data showed. (Yonhap)