The volume of e-commerce in Turkey posted an increase of 48% year-on-year from January through May this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said Wednesday.

The volume surged to TL 63.3 billion ($9.2 billion), Pekcan said on the sidelines of a virtual meeting on Turkey's Electronic Commerce Information System (ETBIS), sharing some details of the country’s e-commerce data that is being compiled for the first time.

Pekcan said e-commerce food shopping increased sixfold during the pandemic, namely in March, April and May.

During the period, sectors showing the highest increase in card transactions were white goods and home appliances with a 75% increase, clothing, shoes and accessories with a 43% increase, and the electronics and software sectors with 53% and 95% rises, respectively.

Spending on accommodation, travel and air travel dropped by 80%, 77% and 75%, respectively, in the first five months.

The volume of e-commerce amounted to TL 136 billion (nearly $20 billion) in 2019, Pekcan said.

Air travel led the way with TL 15.3 billion, followed by clothing and shoes and home appliances with TL 13.8 billion and TL 13.3 billion, respectively.

She pointed out that currently, a total of 68,457 businesses continue their e-commerce activities.

Emphasizing that this data will be the main source in all future analyses related to e-commerce, the minister said 85% of the country's total e-commerce volume in 2019 comprised of domestic purchasing, 9% of purchases from other countries through Turkish e-commerce sites, and 6% of Turkish citizens who shopped overseas.