Mother’s Day to drive $9 bln in e-commerce volume

ISTANBUL

E-commerce representatives expect around 400 billion Turkish Liras (roughly $9 billion) in total volume this May as online shopping activity in Türkiye surges ahead of Mother’s Day.

According to Hakan Çevikoğlu, chairman of the Electronic Commerce Operators Association (ETİD), demand has risen sharply across categories typically associated with gift purchases, including jewelry, fashion, footwear, cosmetics, home textiles and baby products.

Çevikoğlu said the growing digitalization of consumer habits continues to increase the share of online shopping during special occasions.

“Mother’s Day has become the second-largest gift shopping period in Türkiye after New Year’s,” he said, noting that online shopping activity accelerated in late April and continued into May.

The strongest increase has been recorded in the jewelry sector, particularly gold products, where order volumes have climbed by as much as 70 percent.

Average basket sizes have also risen, especially in home textile and baby product categories, where spending per order has increased by around 20 percent.

Fashion-oriented categories such as clothing, handbags, accessories and sunglasses are also seeing higher average spending.

Çevikoğlu attributed much of the momentum to promotional campaigns launched by e-commerce platforms ahead of the holiday, saying consumers are increasingly willing to spend more on gift-focused purchases.

He added that emotionally driven products such as flowers, chocolates and curated gift boxes are also expected to generate strong demand during the holiday period.

Çevikoğlu also urged consumers to remain cautious when shopping online.

He advised shoppers to verify whether websites carry Türkiye’s official “Trust Stamp” certification for e-commerce platforms and to check domain names to avoid fraudulent or imitation websites.