A promotional meeting was held by Turkey Union of Chambers on the occassion of the inclusion of new e-commerce companies in the "trust stamp" system that allows consumers to shop securely in electronic environment.
Turkey Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarcýklýoðlu, ýn his speech at the meeting he attended via video conference system, stated that the number of companies that received a "trust stamp" reached 18 and said ''I call on our citizens to choose our sites that have a trust stamp"
Stating that the Ministry of Commerce has made many innovations for the continuation of trade during the new type of coronavirus (Kovid-19) epidemic, Hisarcýklýoðlu, indicated that in this context an Electronic Commerce Information System was established to record e-commerce and that nearly 20 thousand companies were registered. Also, Hisarcýklýoðlu reminded that the "We Support SMEs as e-Commerce" campaign was launched last month, and stated that 28 companies participated in the campaign with advantageous packages for SMEs.
Pointing out that the Kovid-19 epidemic process accelerates the digital transformation even more, Hisarcýklýoðlu said: "Although the rate of online shopping in our country increases day by day, it is far behind the world average. The biggest obstacle to online shopping is the lack of trust. Consumers do not want to share their credit card information and personal data. Unfortunately, channels that are not prepared in accordance with the legal framework fuel these problems. In order to prevent this problem of trust, with the efforts of our Minister of Commerce, the stamp of trust in e-commerce has entered our lives".
We start our campaign with our slogan ''with peace of mind"
Stating that as TOBB, under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade, they started to give a stamp of trust to e-commerce sites, Hisarcýklýoðlu said ''the companies that have this stamp have designed the technical infrastructure of their websites in accordance with the legislation published by the ministry, and that they protect customer data against possible internet piracy through regular penetration tests. Hisarcýklýoðlu continued his speech with the following remarks:
We start our campaign with our slogan themed 'With peace of mind' and say to our consumers that you can shop from these sites with peace of mind. I urge our citizens to choose our sites carrying a stamp of trust. By checking more than 100 criteria, e-commerce sites that prove that they meet the relevant requirements get a 'trust stamp' at the end of the process and we allow them to place the" TR-GO "logo on their websites. We act as a bridge between our consumers and our e-commerce sites that have obtained a trust stamp through our complaint line established within our union. In January, hosted by our Minister of Trade Pekcan, we presented the stamp of trust to the first 12 e-commerce sites that were entitled to receive a stamp of trust. Our number has increased to 18 today with our additional 6 companies that have received the stamp of trust.We start our campaign with our slogan 'With peace of mind' and assure our consumers that they can shop from these sites with peace of mind. I urge our citizens to choose our sites with a stamp of trust. "
Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan underlined that the importance of e-commerce was seen all over the world during the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic.
He stated that e-Commerce is a strategic area of activity for the country's economies with removal of geographical borders, uninterrupted service delivery, reducing the costs of entering the market and doing business, and that e-commerce offers important opportunities in supporting SMEs, tradesmen and producer’s associations in some activity lines.
Minister Pekcan said: "The expansion of e-commerce has a potential risk as well as its benefits. Just like in conventional commerce, the terms of the contract between the parties should be processed very well. All aspects, from the delivery of the goods without defects, to the delivery methods and the terms of payment, should be defined in advance in a way that satisfies both parties so that there is no conflict at the end.
Pekcan pointed out that the trust stamp system is also very important in this regard and stated that the necessary infrastructure should be provided to protect the rights of consumers so that they are not be misinformed.
Pointing out that the protection of personal data transferred to the internet environment is also an important security issue, Pekcan said, "e-Commerce should be regulated, supervised and made secure without detriment to the contractual freedom and market efficiency of the parties." found the assessment.
Pekcan, stating that Turkey is ambitious and is in an open position for development in the field of e-commerce expressed that the country has advantages due to its young, dynamic and communication technologies-oriented population and its geo-strategic location.
"Turkey is becoming a major player in the global e-commerce market"
Pekcan stating that Turkey's position as a significant and a decisive actor in the global e-commerce market is getting increasingly visible with each passing day and pointing out the importance of maintaining e-commerce with a strong and secure infrastructure and said '' In this context, we have created a trust stamp system in e-commerce in order to meet the expectations in security, privacy and service quality, to eliminate concerns and to establish the reliability of e-commerce sites''.
In this context, Pekcan reminded that they also authorized TOBB as "the provider of the stamp of trust" and said that e-commerce sites that want to be included in the system can apply on a voluntary basis through the address "www.guvendamgasi.org.tr".
Pekcan stated that the applications will be evaluated within the framework of the relevant legislation, and that a stamp of trust is to be assigned to e-commerce sites that are deemed to meet the criteria. Emphasizing that e-commerce sites with a trust stamp will comply with the relevant legislation on consumer protection, personal data, payment systems and will be audited by a reliable authority, Pekcan said:
"These sites will use certificates that allow the information to be seen only by the website and the relevant user, and security vulnerabilities can be detected by periodic tests. It will be ensured that buyers can receive information about their order and that their demands and complaints are evaluated effectively.Many details about the features such as stock information, content and dimensions of the product will be included on the site.It will also provide the buyer with information about the status of the order and cargo tracking.’’
"We will continue our promotional activities"
Pekcan stated that they will continue their promotional activities with TOBB so that all enterprises receive this stamp and increase the awareness of citizens and contiued his speech "The trust stamp system will enable our small businesses, especially e-commerce, to create a sense of trust and to promote themselves.''
Pekcan, who reminded the digitization steps they took as the ministry during the epidemic period and before, gave information about the support they provided to virtual fair and trade delegation practices.
Pekcan, stressing that they will accelerate the steps taken by Turkey in the field of digital economy and that they will continue to produce projects for that matter, expressed that they are open to any kind of contributions and suggestions that can be made in this regard
‘’We will utilize the opportunities brought by e-commerce in the best way possible. "
Calling on e-commerce sites, Pekcan said, "Together with all our stakeholders, industry actors and trade experts, we will make the best use of the opportunities brought by e-commerce and improve our production and exports.
"I invite all of our e-commerce sites to get their trust stamp and continue their activities in line with the quality priorities of our country's e-commerce."
Pekcan thanked the Ministry and TOBB employees who contributed to the establishment and implementation of the trust-stamp mechanism in e-commerce.
-Other speakers
GittiGidiyor General Manager and TOBB E-Commerce Council President Öget Kantarcý said, “We are accelerating our efforts to introduce the Trust Stamp practice which has been put into effect with the valuable contributions of our Ministry of Commerce and TOBB to the consumers. Especially, small and medium sized e-commerce platforms that are not well known by the consumer will also find further development opportunities by joining this chain.
As GittiGidiyor, we are one of the first companies to receive the Trust Stamp and we are very pleased to contribute to the process”. The CEO of Hepsiburada Murat Hepsiburada Emirdað stated that electronic commerce as one of the sectors that served as the engine in Turkey has become a supporter and the leverage of the retail industry and that the 'Trust' is the most important factor for our industry, in which millions of customers and 100 thousands of SMEs participate. He also said ‘’As a platform that always abides by the legislation, we care about providing uninterrupted service, and we recommend that consumers make their choices in favor of companies that always have a stamp of trust.”
Modanisa General Manager and TOBB E-Commerce Council Vice President Sami Güzel stated that ''trust stamp '' has both established reliable online shopping and contributes to exports along with the integration of European Union umbrella organizations.
Güzel, underlining that they have carried Turkey's strength in 6 languages across 5 continents, said '' We are proud to bear the "stamp of trust" that was deemed appropriate to be given to us as a token of our utmost effort to ensure customer privacy and security. We also would like to thank our Minister, the Ministry of Trade and TOBB for their valuable work and their contribution to the sector and exports."
Burak Ertaþ, CEO of Sahibinden.com and Member of the TOBB E-Commerce Council, said, “We witnessed the intense use of e-commerce by consumers in the period we are in, and we think that e-commerce will continue to grow in a healthy way in the coming period. We are pleased to be a part of this project that brings together companies that offer a safe shopping experience, aimed at raising awareness of consumers.”
Also, Pegasus General Manager of Pegasus Airlines Mehmet Nane expressed his remarks and said "we are proud and happy to be one of the first companies to receive ''Stamp of Trust''. We have been given this stamp in line with our discourse of '' Turkey's Digital Airline and thanks to continuously developing our applications and e-commerce website ''flypgs.com''.
Trendyol Board Member and TOBB E-Commerce Council Member, Ozan Acar, also thanked Minister Pekcan and TOBB President Hisarcýklýoðlu for their support to the sector and said, “Our minister made visible what we did to turn the wheels of the economy during the pandemic period. Our president said the future will be e-commerce in all spheres of. E-commerce grows the registered part of the economy, improves the welfare of the consumer, and most importantly, does it in an employment-friendly way. The '' stamp of trust'' conduce toward economic growth while the growth of e-commerce, contribute to the development of Turkey's economy. Trust is a step that will increase the consumer's confidence in e-commerce and the stamp holder's confidence in themselves. As Trendyol, we are ready together with our Ministry and our Union to make the stamp of trust an industry standard”.
Sefamerve Chairman of the Board and TOBB E-Commerce Council Member Mehmet Metin Okur said, “Our relations with our customers have always been built on mutual trust. Customer trust and sincerity are more important than anything else in our industry. In a period where the world is transforming into digital, we are proud to be one of the first companies to use the TRGO logo in order to contribute to the concretization of a concept such as trust that is difficult to measure in e-commerce. We, together with our customers, got stronger in the journey of becoming a "worth paying" brand with the TRGO stamp. According to our measurements, our foreign customers find it worth paying up to 25% more than the products of other countries where we compete when the same product is labelled "Made in Turkey". In terms of expressing the concepts of "Made in Turkey" and "Trust" together, the TRGO stamp will become more efficient as it becomes widespread and will contribute to the e-export targets of both Sefamerve and our country "
Arçelik Director Erhan Akdoðan stated that they were first to share the promotion film on Arçelik Perakende TV through the dealer channel, sales teams and the organization. Akdoðan said, "Getting the support of the Ministry and TOBB created great excitement and satisfaction in the whole organization."
Migros Ticaret A.Þ. E-Commerce Executive Vice President and TOBB Turkey Ecommerce Council Member Mustafa Bartin stated that '' As Migros, besides being Turkey's most extensive online food platform, we are one of the first companies to obtain the document of ''trust stamp. Inorder to establish an atmosphere of trust in e-commerce, the trust stamp system created with the cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and TOBB is a strong step in this field. Especially in this period, we have seen once again how critical the trust is for e-commerce. We became the assurance of our customers with Migros Sanal Market (Migros Virtual Market), Macro online, Tazedirekt and Migros Hemen. Although our online sales increased 4 times and the number of our customers over 65 yearsof age increased 3 times, thanks to our strong ecosystem, logistics infrastructure and strong cooperation with our producers and with an additional 5 thousand additional jobs, we have met this demand without interruption. We know that trust is the lifeblood of e-commerce. It is certain that online media is an important growth area for SMEs as well. As Migros, we will continue to be the assurance of SMEs, consumers and the economy with our e-commerce power. Sedat Anak, General Manager of Avansas and Avansaspro, said, “This initiative, put forward by the cooperation of our Ministry of Trade and TOBB, has been a breakthrough that reinforces the trust element of our business.We know very well how important consumer trust is in the rapidly developing e-commerce world.According to our researches, 32% of people do not find it safe to shop online. It is the responsibility of the leading E-commerce brands like us in the sector, who participated in this meeting, to ensure this trust. In our May survey, 7% of our new customers said they used e-commerce for the first time. "We believe that we should not embarrass those who try this kind of internet shopping for the first time, we should instill trust".
N11 Member of the Board and TOBB E-Commerce Council Member Mark Adato, made his remarks as follows ''Trust stamp'' which was started with the initiative of "Turkey Chambers and Stock Exchanges Union and the Ministry represents our trust for the sector and e-commerce. It represents a business understanding in which the sensitivity of vendor and customer information, a quality and peaceful shopping experience and the hygiene rules required by the new world are taken seriously. As n11.com, we attach great importance to serving our 180 thousand registered business partners and more than 20 million members within the framework of this understanding, and to announce our new stamp of trust that will instill trust in our consumers in every environment.’’
Inaddition, ePttavm, Farmasi, sigortam.net, Sarar and Ebebek companies participating in the campaign stated that they will contribute to the campaign
Türkçe