The e-commerce volume in Türkiye more than doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to official data released on Monday. This indicates that online shopping continues to be highly popular, especially following the surge observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sector’s total volume increased by 115.15% year-over-year, reaching TL 1.85 trillion ($57.47 billion), as reported by the Trade Ministry.
On Monday, the ministry published a comprehensive report titled “Outlook of E-Commerce in Türkiye,” which highlights significant developments in the e-commerce field.
The report examines e-commerce’s role within the gross domestic product (GDP), general trade, and retail trade.
Apart from the increase in e-commerce volume, the number of orders rose by 22.25% year-over-year, totaling 5.87 billion in 2023, according to the report.
Projections indicate that e-commerce volume will reach TL 3.4 trillion, and the number of orders will rise to 6.67 billion this year.
The ratio of e-commerce volume to general trade volume, which was 10.1% in 2019, significantly increased to 20.3% last year, the data showed. Meanwhile, the share of e-commerce volume in the GDP was 6.8%.
The data indicated that 51% of the volume originated from goods and 49% from services. For card transaction volume, 63% came from goods and 37% from services.
Sector-wise, the white goods and small home appliances sector accounted for the largest share of e-commerce volume with TL 233 billion, followed by the electronics sector with TL 135 billion, and the clothing, footwear, and accessories sector with TL 127 billion.
Using a methodology developed by the ministry, an index was created to measure the adaptation of provinces in Türkiye to e-commerce.
According to this index, the provinces with the highest adaptation were Istanbul, Kayseri, Çorum, Izmir, and Kocaeli.
The number of businesses engaged in e-commerce in Türkiye reached 559,412 last year. The provinces with the highest number of e-commerce businesses were Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, and Antalya.
Data also showed that the busiest period for transaction volume was November, influenced by campaigns and Teachers’ Day.
In November, e-commerce volume was 50% above the monthly averages throughout the year.
Additionally, the distribution of e-commerce expenditures by age highlighted that the 25-36 age range was the most prominent.
