Türkiye's retail sales volume rose 10.1% year on year in August, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on October 12, pointing to resilient household spending despite tight monetary policy.
Retail sales were also up 1.4% from July. Overall trade sales volume, which combines retail, wholesale and motor vehicle trade, increased a more modest 0.6% from a year earlier and 0.2% from the previous month.
Online and tech purchases lead
Within retail, sales of computers, books and telecommunications equipment recorded the largest annual increase at 22.9%. Mail order and internet sales rose 17.9%, and non-food sales excluding automotive fuel climbed 12.8%. Sales of food, drinks and tobacco grew 5.3%.
Electronic goods and furniture was the only retail category to post an annual decline, falling 3.1%.
Car trade under pressure
Outside retail, the picture was weaker. Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles dropped 11.2% year on year and 1% month on month. Wholesale trade declined 1.9% from a year earlier.
The slump in vehicle trade is consistent with industry figures. The Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) reported that Türkiye's overall automotive market shrank 13% in the first nine months of 2026, with passenger car sales down 15.5%.
The data paint a mixed picture of domestic demand. Consumer confidence rose in September to its highest level since July 2018, while industrial production fell 1.9% year on year in August, reflecting weakness in manufacturing. The central bank has kept its policy rate high this year in an effort to cool demand and bring annual inflation, which slipped below 30% in September, further down.
Strong spending on goods such as electronics can also reflect households bringing forward purchases to protect savings from inflation, a long-standing pattern in Türkiye after years of rapid price increases and lira depreciation. The government's Medium-Term Program expects inflation to fall to 28.4% by the end of 2026.
Sources
Photo: Zumrasha / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
