Shopping malls in Turkey saw a 33.5% increase in retail sales in July, according to the Shopping Mall Retail Turnover Index.

The index, jointly prepared by the Shopping Malls and Investors Foundation (AYD) and Akademetre Research, was released Monday.

According to the data that does not omit the inflation factor, turnover per rentable square meter stood at TL 1,281 ($170) in Istanbul and TL 1,070 in the Anatolian provinces.

The report also showed that Turkey's overall productivity per square meter stood at TL 1,155.

July saw jumps in several categories compared to June. Food recorded a 72.3% increase, shoe sales surged by 43.8%, garment sales recorded another 43% increase while the sale of other goods rose by 36.2%. Supermarket sales also rose by 22.7% compared to June.

Number of visitors increases by 37.2%

The visitor index recorded a jump of 37.2% after Turkey switched to the Controlled Social Life phase in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Within the scope of the new phase, shopping malls were allowed to open as of May 11.