FMCG shopping in Turkey – Tradition vs Modernity
The Turkish retail landscape is characterised by a mix of traditional open bazars, specialist shops, small grocery shops and modern supermarkets. Traditional retail channels still account for 57% of total grocery spend – with the exception of Istanbul, where modern trade owns a majority of the market. Compared to Western countries like the UK and France shoppers in Turkey shop for groceries almost daily (UK: 5 times a week; France 2 times a week).
The top 5 retailers together still account for only 21% (UK: 71%, France: 60%) of sales. 3 out of these 5 retailers are discounters (BIM, A101, Şok), a format which boasts average growth rates more than twice the growth of total FMCG in Turkey (which was about 10% from 2014 to 2015).
The BIM chain that has opened almost 5,000 stores over the past 20 years follows the Aldi or Lidl logic: small assortments (600 SKUs) dominated by PL (72% of sales). Considering that half of the Turkish population is currently under 30 years old, it seems a safe prediction that modern trade (not just discounters) and e-commerce will grow share in the coming years.