How Turkish consumers shop online

 

Bridging the geographic gap between Asia and Europe, Türkiye offers numerous exciting opportunities for businesses from both continents to expand their reach into the other. Given the country’s young population and developing infrastructure, e-Commerce can be a particularly advantageous market segment. Let’s take a closer look at e-Commerce in Türkiye!

 

 

A picture of Istanbul taken at dusk

 

 

The digital landscape of Türkiye

Türkiye has a population of 87.7 million people, 76.92% of whom live in urban areas. The median age of the country is 33.5 years. In comparison, the median age in the US is 38.5 years, in Canada 40.6 years, in France 42.3 years, and in Germany 45.5 years.

 

Internet penetration in Türkiye is 83%, which forms a great basis for e-Commerce while still providing lots of growth potential in the system. The e-Commerce market is currently estimated to generate a revenue of $27,345 million, with a 10-15% annual growth forecast. The market itself is valued at $93.54 billion, and is projected to reach $157.84 billion by 2030, which corresponds to a 10.61% CAGR.

 

Given Türkiye’s young population, it’s no wonder that mobile penetration is high. In fact, 72% of all e-Commerce transactions are conducted via mobile devices. Online shopping is currently adopted by around half of the population, but heavily concentrated around Istanbul.

 

Two-thirds of all e-Commerce transactions originate in the metropolis and its surrounding area, while some other regions demonstrate less than 30% of e-Commerce penetration. This creates logistics issues for businesses operating in or selling products to these regions.

 

Analysts have recognized a strong platform dependence in Türkiye. This means that most sellers work with a single e-Commerce platform, giving them enormous power over their business.

 

This is especially problematic for small businesses, because they can become too reliant on the specific algorithm or requirements of a single platform. The most popular platforms are Trendyol and Hepsiburada.

 

Learn more about Trendyol, the popular Turkish fashion platform!

 

While Trendyol focuses on fashion, Hepsiburada is a general marketplace based in Istanbul. Often called the Amazon of Türkiye, Hepsiburada offers over 280 million products in categories like electronics, fashion, groceries, beauty, personal care, toys, sports equipment, and more. The marketplace works with over 100,000 third-party sellers, often small businesses, and offers them assistance in various areas, including logistics, payments, advertising, and international trade.

 

 

Screenshot of the homepage of hepsiburada.com

 

 

Purchasing behavior of Turkish online consumers

The relative youth of Turkish consumers means that their shopping habits can significantly differ from what you may be used to in your other markets. For instance, as the numbers for mobile commerce penetration show, Turkish consumers are more inclined to shop on their phones than others living in a country with an older median age.

 

In addition, the use of social media is higher throughout the shopping journey, and consumers expect flexible, innovative payment options as well as logistics solutions. Moreover, shoppers often need to see their values reflected in the brands whose products they buy, including sustainability.

 

The most popular products purchased online are household appliances, electronics, fashion, shoes, and accessories. Turkish consumers are very price-sensitive, preferring to shop during promotions and also often make use of payment installment plans. Credit and debit card payments take up 54% of all transactions, while digital wallets are also gaining popularity and currently grow at an annual rate of 13.97%.

 

Besides a good deal and flexible payment options, consumers value convenience and trust in their online transactions. This implies that English product listings on a local platform may not cut it with Turkish consumers.  In addition, Quick Commerce is on the rise in Türkiye as well, with 10 million app downloads and significant investments in the segment.

 

Discover all about Quick Commerce!

 

 

Marketing strategies for the Turkish market

When preparing your products for a successful market launch in Türkiye, you need to bear in mind the specifics of your audience. For example, the relative youth of the Turkish consumer base means that social media will most likely play a very important role in your marketing.

 

As social commerce has a huge potential in the country (predicted to reach a value of $2.15 billion by the end of 2025), you should consider working with local influencers and running specific campaigns, including hosting live shopping events.

 

Translating your content into the local language is important in any market, and Türkiye is no exception. Besides product listings, social media pages, ads, etc, you also have to provide customer support in Turkish to create trust and increase conversion.

 

As mentioned earlier, most Turkish consumers still use credit and debit cards for purchases, but they’re open to innovative solutions like digital wallets and even cash-on-delivery plans. Don’t forget the importance of loyalty programs that come with financial benefits, as well as discounts and even payment installment plans that allow consumers to pay for a larger purchase in small installments.

 

 

Related topics

How South Korean consumers shop online

 

How Italian consumers shop online

 

How French consumers shop online

 

How Canadian consumers shop online

 

 

Brand protection strategies for the Turkish market

Unfortunately, Türkiye is among the most important sources of counterfeit goods in the world. This is probably due to its crucial location connecting the East to the West, and also to the prevalence of relatively cheap labor as well as raw material. Also, several brands manufacture their original products in the country, including Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, and Nike, which enables less honest manufacturers to create counterfeits for some extra cash.

 

This leads to an abundance of counterfeit and grey market products appearing on Turkish marketplaces. Luckily, it’s nothing that a well-targeted online brand protection program can’t deal with.

 

We recommend continuous marketplace monitoring on at least Trendyol and Hepsiburada to detect IP-infringing product listings as quickly as possible. Once the infringement is confirmed, we move to enforce your rights and ensure the removal of the fraudulent product listings.

 

Given the prominence of social commerce, social media monitoring is also necessary to discover fraudulent ads, posts, and any other content. We also track social media platforms to detect fake profiles, unauthorized sellers, and the misuse of your brand’s hashtags. Enforcement and the removal of infringing content are the culmination of our work in this segment as well.

 

Educating your customers about the dangers of counterfeits is always a good idea. Letting your Turkish consumers know how to tell the difference between your original products and fakes is also a great trust-building exercise, as it shows your target audience the quality of your products and what they can expect to get from your brand.

 

Learn all about the advantages of educating your customers!

 

 

Conclusion

The Turkish e-Commerce market provides excellent opportunities for brands looking for a new market. However, given the significance of the country’s counterfeit issues, you need to take proactive action to protect your brand’s invaluable IP rights.

 

Contact us and let’s discuss your brand’s perfectly tailored online brand protection program in Türkiye!