Despite COVID-19 E-Commerce in Turkey is up by 48%

Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan recently announced that in the first five months of this year, the total volume of e-commerce sales has increased in Turkey by a hugely impressive 48%, this despite the current coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world.

During a virtual meeting which took place on ETBIS (Turkey’s Electronic Commerce Information System) Pekcan confirmed the volume of e-commerce sales in Turkey climbed to 63.3 billion Turkish Lira in total. This was the first time that the country has shared some of their e-commerce data.

Which areas have the biggest increases

March, April, and May saw online food shopping in Turkey increase by six times over the usual numbers, according to statistics.

Also in this period of time, the other sectors that recorded the highest increases of card payments were home appliances and white goods with a massive 75% increase. Shoes, clothing, and accessories were up by 43%, whilst the software and electronic sectors experienced rises of 95% and 53% respectively. It’s even possible to buy Turkish real estate online.

Decreased revenue spending

Unsurprisingly, in the first five months of this year spending on air travel, travel and accommodation in Turkey fell by 75%, 77% and 80% respectively with these industries being the hardest hit by coronavirus.

2019 figures in Turkey

When talking about e-commerce volumes in 2019, Pekcan confirmed that the yearly figure amounted to 136 billion Turkish Lira. This total was made up from air travel which amassed 15.3 billion Turkish Lira, home appliances 13.3 billion Turkish Lira, and shoes and clothing which had a total of 13.8 billion Turkish Lira.

Future analysis of e-commerce

Pekcan reported that there are 68,457 businesses that have been able to conduct their business using e-commerce and online sales during the coronavirus pandemic. In future e-commerce analysis it will be this data that forms the main source, and Pekcan said that the total e-commerce volume last year comprised of 85% domestic purchases and 9% of purchases came from other countries buying from Turkish e-commerce sites. The other 6% was made up of Turkish people shopping overseas during holidays and vacations.