Spotlight on cultural values and consumer trends in Turkey
In the 90-year history of the modern Turkish Republic, Turkey has acquired a wide range of Western values and practices. However, it is worth mentioning that 99% of the population is Muslim and that religion has still a fundamental influence on all facets of life. Physical bridge between the European and the Asian continent, itsculture is extremely diverse and varies according to the region and the ethnic background of its inhabitants. In the larger towns and cosmopolitan coastal cities of Turkey the culture is rather secular and similar to Europe in many ways whilst in the rest of the country the cultural traits remain fairly similar to that of the small towns of neighbouring Middle Eastern countries. As a matter of fact, the culture of Turkish people living in rural areas and especially in the east is a lot more traditional. People mainly belong to the farming classes and religion plays a greater part in their culture. The conservative aspects of Turkish culture reveal in the clothes, housing and lifestyle of rural people.
Family values play a big part in the culture of Turkey as a whole. The traditional extended family consists of 3 generations living together, however this is becoming rarer in the cities where families live in similar arrangements to Western nuclear families. Turkish culture dictates that families should work together and all members should contribute somehow to the family. For instance, the father will often be the breadwinner, while the mother stays at home and looks after the children. This can actually explain the low female participation in the workforce. In fact, against all expectations, the percentage of Turkish women in the workforce has dropped from 34.1% in 1990 to 21.6% in 2010.
Turkish people who live in the larger cities have a higher disposable income and better access to large stores and hypermarkets, though traditional mom-and-pop corner stores called “bakkal” continue to play an important role in Turks’ daily life across the country. Although Turkish food preferences in rural areas are rather conservative, younger population in coastal areas are more aware of international trends and consumption patterns.
Changing social texture: In the last two decades, whilst Turkish social texture was undergoing a period of intense change, there has been an exciting integration of global capitalism and Muslim principles. As certain segments within the politically active and religiously sensitive sections of the Turkish population became wealthier, a conservative Muslim “merchant class” with conservative values and a taste for conspicuous consumption began to emerge. Although religiously sensitive members of the upper and middle Turkish classes appear to be rejecting modern Western ideas in the name of traditional values, they are still willing to spend money on Western lifestyle goods. One sign of this is an increased interest in fashion and beauty, especially amongst upper-class, urban, well-educated, young Muslim women. Muslim clothing stores, fashion shows, fitness and beauty centres have become commonplace across Turkey.
Consumer spending and domestic demand: In 2011, the Turkish economy demonstrated strong growth (+8.8%), mainly based on credit-led domestic demand and consumption boom. Turkey’s GDP per head is $10,200 and the consumer expenditure per head is around $8,000, which implies that Turks are not savers but spenders. The retail sector in Turkey is maintaining momentum thanks to increasing per capita disposable income, coupled with an ever-growing consumer appetite. The total size of the retail sector (organized and unorganized) in Turkey is estimated to have reached $300 billion in 2012.
The retail sector in Turkey greatly benefits from the increasing adoption of credit cards. In recent years, special offers (including extended instalment periods, discounts and bonuses) provided in collaboration with banks have proved to be influential incentives for shopping. According to The Interbank Card Centre, the total value of credit / debit card transactions in supermarkets and shopping centres reached $28 billion in 2012.
Online retail in Turkey: The internet retailing sector in Turkey has been experiencing a significant boom over the last couple of years. Online apparel shopping clubs offering products at discounted prices and deal-of-the-day websites are very popular among Turkish people. In order to benefit from this high growth potential, local and foreign investors show great interest in well-established internet brands. Here are some recent examples of major M&A activity in the Turkish internet retailing sector: eBay acquired 83% of Gittigidiyor, leading Turkish C2C website for USD217 million. Amazon made its first investment in Turkey by acquiring 19% of Ciceksepeti, Turkey’s leading online flower and gift retailer. Naspers acquired 68% of Markafoni, one of the pioneer apparel discount shopping club websites of Turkey for USD86 million.
Mobile phone usage: Turkey has 68 million GSM subscribers in total, which represents a 90% penetration rate (out of 76 million inhabitants). The average monthly mobile phone usage (MoU) in Turkey is around 300 minutes (the highest in Europe). Since people with lower-income levels are highly price-sensitive, the most frequent usage pattern of mobile phones is sending SMS messages rather than voice calls, where “heavy users” mostly own a traditional mobile phone. Smart phone ownership ratio is around 20% and it is believed to be a token of prestige and again a way of “show-off” among friends and peers. The most used smart phone apps in Turkey are for social networking and gaming. According to the “Emerging App Markets: Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey” report by Distimo, paid apps are not popular in Turkey: only 2 paid apps are downloaded for every 100 downloaded free apps.
Luxury market: As for Turkey’s largest city and financial hub, Istanbul has been improving its already premium positioning, with the growing presence of several international luxury brands. Istanbul’s growth is mainly due to the increasing number of upper middle class citizens as well as corporate and leisure travellers, especially from the Middle East, CIS countries and Central Asia.
The majority of Turkish luxury consumers (both men and women) are drawn to shops for a certain luxury branded product which they have seen in the tabloids (worn by a local VIP/celebrity) and not by traditional advertising in fashion glossy magazines. Their main motivation to buy locally is a way to differentiate themselves socially (and show off). It is interesting to see how this need to “show off” justifies the local pricing of luxury branded goods, on average, 20% higher than those in Milan or Paris.
Great growth potential: With its $775 billion GDP, Turkey was the 16th largest economy in the world in 2012. Despite a slower GDP growth of 2.6% in 2012, Turkey still remains one of the promising economies in Europe. Some analysts suggest that Turkey is knocking on the door of the BRICs and is now perceived as “Europe’s BRIC” or “the China of Europe”.
All in all, Turkey has a great growth potential to explore, not only in economy but also in socio-cultural aspects. For instance, the most recent Gezi Park protests in Istanbul have helped emerge a significant change in the democracy culture in Turkey. It was the first time in Turkish history that the protesters and civil activists have crossed class boundaries and ethnic labels, and bridged left/right, conservative/liberal, pious/secular to speak out a variety of complaints and demands. Such masses of people — many with contradictory or competing interests — have come together without any ideological or party organization. This new mutual understanding and consistency toward democratic culture may help Turkey become a stronger and more modern country in the 21st century.
Source: Creative Culture Int. Blog
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