The e-commerce volume in Türkiye more than doubled in 2023 when compared to the year earlier, official data showed on Monday, suggesting online shopping remains highly favorable following the boom particularly observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total volume in the sector increased by 115.15% year-over-year to TL 1.85 trillion ($57.47 billion), according to the data shared by the Trade Ministry.

The ministry published on Monday the lengthy report, dubbed "Outlook of E-Commerce in Türkiye," which highlights significant developments in the field of e-commerce.

The report examines the position of e-commerce within the gross domestic product (GDP), general trade and retail trade.

According to the report, apart from the surge in the e-commerce volume, the number of orders also rose by 22.25% on an annual basis totaling 5.87 billion in 2023.

On the other hand, it is projected that the e-commerce volume will reach TL 3.4 trillion and the number of orders will rise to 6.67 billion this year.

The ratio of e-commerce volume to general trade volume, which stood at 10.1% in 2019 picked up significantly to reach 20.3% last year, the data showed. The share of e-commerce volume in the GDP meanwhile realized at 6.8%.

The data suggested that 51% of the volume originated from goods and 49% from services, while looking at card transaction volume this figure was registered at 63% from goods and 37% from services, respectively.

On a sector basis, e-commerce volume in the white goods and small home appliances took the largest share with TL 233 billion, followed by the electronics sector with TL 135 billion and the clothing, footwear, and accessories sector with TL 127 billion.

Moreover, according to a methodology method developed by the ministry, which resulted in creating an index for the adaptation of provinces in Türkiye to e-commerce, the regions with the highest adaptation were determined.

According to this index, the provinces with the highest adaptation to e-commerce were listed as Istanbul, Kayseri, Çorum, Izmir and Kocaeli.

The number of businesses engaged in e-commerce in Türkiye reached 559,412 last year. The provinces with the highest number of e-commerce businesses were listed as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, and Antalya.

The data also indicated that the busiest period in terms of transaction volume was November due to the influence of campaigns and Teachers' Day. In November, e-commerce volume was 50% above the monthly averages throughout the year.

In addition, looking at the distribution of e-commerce expenditures by age, the 25-36 age range appeared to stand out.