The rapid growth pace continues in the Turkish e-commerce sector, which experienced a boom under pandemic conditions.
The Turkish e-commerce sector, which set out with a target of TRY 1.2 trillion at the beginning of 2023, completed the year at approximately TRY 1.5 trillion (USD 50 billion). The share of e-commerce in total trade reached 22 percent. Industry representatives expect the volume to reach TRY 2.2 trillion (USD 73 billion) in 2024, as payment methods diversify.
The growth trend in e-commerce, which started with the pandemic, continues with inflation. E-commerce, which reached a volume of TRY 800 billion in 2022, was also dynamic in 2023.
According to the Ministry of Trade E-Commerce Information System (ETBIS) data, in the first 6 months of 2023, e-commerce volume increased by 109.7% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached TRY 652.7 billion. Orders increased by 20% from 2 billion 131 million to 2 billion 556 million. In the first 6 months, the ratio of e-commerce to general trade was 19.1 percent. In the last 5 years, the share of e-commerce in GDP increased steadily to 2.8%. Reminding that a target of TRY 1.2 trillion was set at the beginning of 2023, sector representatives shared the prediction that the year was completed at TRY 1.5 trillion with a growth of approximately 80 percent in the light of ETBIS data. The share of e-commerce in total trade is estimated to have reached 22%. Sector representatives aim to reach TRY 2.2 trillion in 2024 as more consumers prefer e-commerce.
Turkey among the fastest-growing markets
Inveon CEO Yomi Kastro said that Turkey was among the countries where e-commerce grew the fastest in 2023. Kastro said that the clothing sector had the largest share in the global market in 2023, “It was followed by electronics and cosmetics. In Turkey, food, diy store and furniture were among the sectors with large share.” Kastro said that consumers have started to shop more consciously due to rising prices: “This has led to an increase in demand for lower priced products and promotions. In addition, consumers started to see the products they bought as investment instruments. For this reason, the transaction volume of the November period increased by 70%.” Noting that basket averages also grew, Kastro said: “We should evaluate this growth in terms of turnover and number of orders. There was growth in both areas, but the growth in turnover was higher than the increase in the number of orders. This shows that the growth in basket averages is related to price increases. E-commerce in Turkey has not yet reached saturation.”
Pick up in activity expected in the 2nd half
IdeaSoft CEO Seyhun Ozkara emphasized that the demand for advantageous payment options in e-commerce has increased due to economic conditions. “Consumers are looking to better manage costs and make their shopping experience more flexible. The popularity of campaigns will probably continue. Due to inflation, consumers have reviewed their spending habits. However, e-commerce businesses kept consumers shopping by offering discounts, campaigns, and flexible payment options. We expect the sector to pick up, especially in the 3rd and 4th quarters after the local elections. In 2023, a turnover of approximately TRY 1.5 trillion and a growth of 80 percent compared to the previous year is estimated. The ratio of e-commerce to general trade has exceeded 22 percent. Our expectation this year is a turnover of around TRY 2,25 trillion” he said.
SMEs led the growth
Nilhan Onal Gokcetekin, CEO of Hepsiburada, stated that SMEs were the locomotive of growth in 2023, when the average basket size increased by 80%, and said: “The e-commerce regulation that came into force at the beginning of 2023 supported the growth of the sector. Small and medium-sized e-commerce players had the opportunity to increase their advertising and marketing activities, and the traffic of their sites increased significantly. We have seen SMEs get a larger share of the growth.” In the third quarter of 2023, Hepsiburada’s total sales volume increased by 126 percent compared to the same quarter last year, reaching TRY 24.3 billion. The number of orders the company received increased by 55 percent compared to the third quarter of 2022, reaching 27 million. While the number of active customers in the third quarter was 12 million, the order frequency per customer increased by 59 percent annually to 8.6.
“We see that our customers who do not want to fill their credit card limits or who have different payment solutions show interest in credit solutions that will increase their purchasing power,” said Gokcetekin.
SELLERS FOCUSED ON E-EXPORT
Describing 2023 as a period they focused on e-exports, Erdem Inan, CEO of Trendyol Group, gave the following information: “We carried the November campaigns abroad for the first time this year. The most preferred category in the e-commerce sector continues to be clothing. The ratio of clothing among all orders on Trendyol was 32 percent. The category with the fastest growth this year is cosmetics. This category grew by 175 percent compared to the previous year. Since the beginning of 2022, we have mediated nearly 60 thousand sellers to export. Trendyol sellers sold more than 51 million products abroad in 2 years. We aim to reach an e-export volume of USD 2 billion next year and USD 10 billion in the next three years through our sellers. In 2023, we aimed to complete all our international operations with approximately 3.5 million customers and 13 million orders. While moving towards these goals, we will continue our activities abroad in 2024 without interruption.”
MICRO EXPORTS ON THE RISE
Pointing to the upward trend in both micro exports and B2B e-exports in the last year, TOBB E-commerce Council Member and Ticimax Founder CEO Cenk Cigdemli said, “The e-export support package had a doping effect in the sector. In addition to rising prices due to inflation, supply chain delays and shortages negatively affecting pricing all over the world have increased demand for smart trade. This is how we can explain the explosion in demand for online exports between companies and the rise in micro-exports. In the last year, the demand for B2B-specific e-commerce infrastructure from wholesale companies has increased tremendously. There is almost an explosion. Within the scope of e-export supports, e-exporting companies can receive e-export support up to TRY 27 million, B2B platforms up to TRY 7.2 million, retail e-commerce sites, marketplaces and e-export consortiums up to TRY 81.4 million in different items.”
