Turkey’s e-commerce sector has successfully met the rapidly rising demand during the pandemic but should be cautious of rapid expansion of operations, a joint study by EY-Parthenon consulting and leading e-commerce group showed Saturday.
The report, conducted by EY-Parthenon and the Turkish E-Commerce Association (ETID), surveyed senior executives of the country’s leading companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) about the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on businesses’ performance and revenues between May and June.
The report suggested that the high performance of the e-commerce sector ensured customers’ essential needs were met and helped soften the economic recession experienced during the March-June period.
According to the survey data, more than 78% of e-commerce businesses reported an increase in revenues during the pandemic as more people turn to online shopping to buy products they might have otherwise purchased in person.
However, not all businesses with the online shopping option experienced rising revenues. The report showed that 47% of SMEs saw declining revenues during the lockdown while 41% of them were able to increase revenues. One of the reasons behind the underperformance of SMEs was cited as a lack of adequate logistics and cargo capabilities and expertise.
The pandemic overall pushed many e-commerce businesses to rapidly expand operations in order to catch up with the rising demand. However, the unplanned booming growth put excessive pressure on operations, including in inventory and shipping.
