Turkey poses a young country and power, with a median population age of 30.9 years. The country is dynamically improving in the sectors of education and urbanization, with 3 out of 10 young people having graduated college (Banco Santander,S.A.2020). 26.91 percent of the Turkish labor force is employed in the industrial sector, 54.34 percent is employed in the service sector, and 18.75 percent is in the industry sector.
Turkey is the 17th largest world economy, and is the 15th country in labor equality. There is a present gender gap, especially in the labor force, and employment, with men participating at 70 percent, and women only at 30 percent. The unemployment rate stands at 9 percent for men and 13 percent for women, according to the Turkstat Statistics of 2015.
When looking into the behavior of the average consumer in Turkey, cultural differences can surely be detected, compared to its European or Western counterparts. A widely adopted ideal in Turkey is that self-care, and trends are of primary importance. The increasing use of social media, a popular demand for cosmetic procedures, as well as the tradition of buying into the industry of luxury goods and electronics, have all led to an increased trend in the use of credit cards for these purchases. There seems to be a general shift towards online shopping, retailing, and leisure activities, and since the majority of the population belongs to a younger age group, which is becoming increasingly familiar with the use of high-tech gadgets, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets, traditional shopping trips are actually abandoned for the comfort and ease of the online shopping experience. Due to political and economic instability during 2015 and 2016, there was a halt in the disposable income, and consumers became more hesitant in their spending. However, there is strong potential for this reality to change and improve, since young people will have more access to consumer credit (Banco, Santander.S.A.2020)
During the past decade, Turkey’s economic growth has been largely based on consumer spending, translating to about 70 percent of the country’s GDP. Unfortunately, this has been fueled by the country’s free flowing credit distribution per household, with consumer credit reaching 58.52 billion USD in 2018 (Banco, Santander.S.A.2020). On the positive end however, according to information presented by the Investment Office of Turkey, there is projected upcoming growth and development in areas like infrastructure, agriculture, telecommunication, luxury goods, manufacturing, and knowledge based services.
Author: Fani Tzikas
