28.04.2021 Ankara
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they started to issue “Trust Seals” to e-commerce sites with the authorization of the Ministry of Commerce, and said, “Our consumers are able to shop with peace of mind on these sites. When you are shopping, be sure to look for the ‘Trust Seal’.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
made the assessment in a special session within the scope of the “Turkey
Technology Meetings” event held under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce
and TOBB.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that they have organized 78 events in 26 provinces under the name of
“Technology Meetings” and reached hundreds of thousands of SMEs and
entrepreneurs, and that they have kept up with the digital environment and the
rapid transformation.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that digitalization and e-commerce are now among the most prominent
issues all over the world, and that they have become even more important with
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
informed that the volume of e-commerce in Turkey increased by 66% to 226
billion liras last year compared to 2019. Similarly, e-commerce around the
world grew 18% annually. In 2020, global e-commerce volume reached $4.3
trillion. On the other hand, our entrepreneurs have started to turn to
e-exports. Last year, our e-export volume was $1.5 billion, but we still have a
long way to go. Because the share of e-exports worldwide in total exports is about
4.4%. We're at 1.3%. So we have the potential to triple that. The whole world
is going there, and we can't afford to miss it.”
- “e-Commerce will become a habit
for the consumer”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
pointed out that all the fast-growing companies in the world have chosen the
e-commerce route, and that this is the result of making the best use of
technology.
Emphasizing
that oil and natural gas enrich states and elites, and that the way to enrich
the people is through trade, Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that Turkey is similar to
Western countries in internet connection prevalence, quality and smartphone
usage rates, that 90% of the population has mobile connections, and that 50
million people are regularly connected to the internet every day.
Noting
that as TOBB, they want to mobilize this potential, Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that
the trend towards this area will continue unabated after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
pointed out that e-commerce will become a habit for consumers, gave the following
assessment:
“Our
businesses have to digitize their products and services. As TOBB, we aimed for
the digitalization of the private sector and the development of the next
generation of entrepreneurship, and we are working towards this. We prepare our
companies and entrepreneurs for the digital world. In this regard, we have
implemented great collaborations and projects with Vodafone, one of the largest
global technology companies in the world, and we are working on new ones.”
- “Be sure to look for the Trust
Seal on the site when shopping”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
reminded that as TOBB, they started to issue “Trust Seals” to e-commerce sites
in order to establish a sense of trust in consumers with the authorization of
the Ministry of Commerce. “Our consumers are able to shop with peace of mind on
these sites. When you are shopping, be sure to look for the ‘Trust Seal’.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that digital literacy and SMEs also produce projects to improve their
digital infrastructure, and said that they want to improve not only
company-to-consumer, but also company-to-company e-commerce.
Emphasizing
that the sector council will continue to be actively involved in all
sector-oriented efforts, Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that the FinTek Sector Council
will soon be operational for the financial technology sector.