One of the key drivers in the retail sector is the number of shopping malls, which has more than quadrupled in the last decade and reached 333 by the end of 2013, spread over 54 cities throughout the country. Owing to Turkish consumers' increasing purchasing power, improvements in organized retailing and sustained real estate investments by both local and foreign investors, the total amount of shopping mall investments leapt to US$45 billion as of early 2014 (in 2009 the total was US$25 billion), of which one third was realized by foreign investors.
In the same period, gross leasable area (GLA) has exceeded 9 million m2, having risen from 2 million m2 in 2003. GLA per 1,000 people reached 120 m2, but is still below the EU-28 average. However, Turkey is expected to close the gap as it has the second largest investment pipeline in Europe after Russia, corresponding to an additional c. 2.2 million m2 of expected leasable area by the end of 2015.
Istanbul is the center of the Turkish retail market as it is the location for the majority (60%) of shopping malls in Turkey, followed by Ankara and İzmir which together represent another 16%. Istanbul is expected to attract further shopping mall investments in the coming years and continue to dominate, while other major investments are expected to occur in the emerging cities of the Marmara, Black Sea and Mediterranean regions. Ankara and İzmir are likely to become saturated considering the current investment pipeline.
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