Turkey’s Marketplace Landscape Has Been Redrawn

Three Changes

Rapid delivery consolidated. The delivery operations of Trendyol Go and Getir moved under Uber, in transactions reported at 700 and 335 million dollars respectively. 🚚 For food and fast-moving goods sellers, that means one counterparty grew stronger.

A social commerce channel opened. TikTok Shop is now fully live in Turkey — a new storefront for brands reaching younger buyers, but one that requires video production rather than just product listings.

Second-hand turned serious. Ministry of Trade figures put consumer-to-consumer sales at roughly 22 billion lira across 23.6 million transactions. For brands under stock-turn pressure it is a genuine clearance channel. ♻️

Commission and Margin

Choosing a marketplace is a margin decision, not a visibility decision. 💰 Commission varies by category, and if your product margin sits below that band, selling produces a loss.

Model three items together: commission, shipping and return rate. In high-return categories — apparel above all — the gap between reported revenue and money in hand becomes significant. Rising sales alongside falling profit usually traces back to these three.

Ministry data also shows that only 17 per cent of e-commerce shipments stay within the same city. Your operation is largely an intercity logistics business, which makes shipping a primary cost line rather than an incidental one.

The Risk of a Single Channel

A business tied to one marketplace is fully exposed to that platform’s rule changes. 🎯 A commission increase, an algorithm shift or a store suspension stops revenue overnight if no alternative exists.

The sequence that works in practice: establish one channel properly, then open the second. Opening two at once and performing moderately in both is the most common mistake. The third stage is your own website — the only channel without commission and with rules you set.

Frequently Asked Questions