Shopping malls in Turkey are preparing for a new move to stimulate the market and avoid the fallout of newly imposed restrictions and partial curfews on already-harmed businesses. Accordingly, each shopping mall will open its own e-commerce site and sell to consumers in its region. Sector representatives forecast the initiative will employ 6,000 additional people.

Shopping malls, which initially shut their doors on March 18 due to restrictions imposed countrywide to contain the first wave of the outbreak, resumed business on June 1 during Turkey's normalization process, but they are again facing income loss due to the new measures.

Shopping Center Investors Association (AYD) Chairperson Hüseyin Altaş said they are working on software that will create a virtual shopping mall. He explained that accordingly, each individual center will establish its own e-commerce site, in a virtual form.

“The consumer will be able to enter the e-commerce site of the shopping center closest to their district or neighborhood and shop online from the store they want. The product will be delivered to the consumer through courier teams established or contracted by the shopping malls,” Altaş explained.

He said that if the consumer desires, they will also be able to buy more than one product, try it at home and then deliver it to the courier.

Shopping malls will close the year with a 40% contraction in revenue, and it is anticipated that the losses will continue well into 2021.

Altaş said that with this initiative, shopping malls and stores aim to reduce the loss of income to some extent while creating additional employment, particularly with the teams on the streets.

“Since each shopping mall will establish its own moto-courier team, 3,000 additional jobs will be created in one shift and about 6,000 in two shifts,” he added.

Altaş said that this model favors the consumer as the shopping malls are being extended to the neighborhoods.

The new virtual shopping model will be a revenue-sharing model unlike shopping on each brands’ websites.

“The franchise of the brand, both the shopping mall and the brand will earn from now on, while the income goes only to the headquarters during shopping made on the websites of the brands,” Altaş emphasized.

Virtual shopping malls are set to provide contactless shopping, prevent consumer victimization and promote this “revenue sharing model,” he added.