Turkey's 2018 e-commerce target to reach over $13B

By Musab Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey aims to raise its e-commerce volume to 50 billion Turkish liras (around $13.14 billion) by the end of 2018, Emre Ekmekci, chairman of the Association of E-commerce Operators (ETID), said on Thursday.

The country's e-commerce volume was 30.8 billion liras (some $10.16 billion) in 2016 according to the Informatics Industry Association (TUBISAD), and 40 billion liras (some $10.95 billion) was predicted for 2017, he told Anadolu Agency.

Worldwide retail e-commerce sales reached nearly $2 trillion in 2016 and are estimated at $2.35 trillion for 2017 and to reach $2.86 trillion in 2018, according to market research firm eMarketer.

"We expect an increase of 30-35 percent in the sector this year," he stated.

Global e-commerce rose 23.7 percent in 2016 and 22.9 percent in 2017, said eMarketer data.

He said online shopping in Turkey has seen constant growth and will be an inseparable part of consumer life.

"Several retail trade firms had a digital transformation in Turkey, and the digitalization of retail trade raises the sector and contributes e-commerce culture to the country," he stressed.

E-commerce's share of the total trade sector in Turkey is 3.5 percent, he said, adding:

"Although e-commerce in Turkey is moving upward, this rate is under the world average but we aim to reach the world average in the years ahead."

Retail e-commerce sales' share of total retail spending worldwide in 2016 was 8.7 percent, 10 percent in 2017, and it will reach 14.6 percent by 2020, according to eMarketer.

Turkey's e-commerce sector employs nearly 200,000 people in various areas, such as digital marketing, information technology, and logistics, he underlined.

He highlighted that electronics is the most favored category.

* Gokhan Ergocun contributed to this story from Ankara.