E-commerce volume expected to double this year

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s e-commerce volume is expected to reach somewhere between 3.2 trillion Turkish Liras to 3.6 trillion liras this year, rising from 1.8 trillion liras in 2023, according to Seyhun Özkara from E-Commerce Assembly at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB).

The e-commerce volume rose 32 percent in June alone, according to Özkara.

The rate of growth of e-commerce remained above the inflation rate in the first five months of 2024, he said.

Many companies saw strong sales in the first quarter with the number of transactions rising around 12 percent, Özkara noted.

“The picture, however, changed in April, May and June, as consumers’ access to loan became limited,” he explained.

However, sales on e-commerce platforms picked up in June due to special occasions, such as the Eid al-Adha holiday, Father’s Day, according to Özkara.

They had forecast a 25 percent growth in sales in June compared with May, he added.

The e-commerce volume in Türkiye recorded a 132 percent increase in 2023 from a year ago. The number of transactions grew 23 percent to around 6 billion.

The average basket size increased 108 percent last year from 2022 to 492 liras, according to a separate report prepared jointly by iyzico and the Association of E-Commerce Operators (ETİD), titled “Türkiye E-Commerce Ecosystem.”

The share of e-commerce in total retail volume was 18.3 percent, while its share in national income climbed to 6.8 percent in 2023.