Seven new shopping malls to open by end of 2026

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is set to welcome seven new shopping malls by the end of 2026, according to Nuri Şapkacı, chairman of the Council of Shopping Centers (AYD).

Two malls with a total gross leasable area of approximately 42,000 square meters are planned for 2025, while five additional malls totaling around 212,000 square meters are scheduled to open in 2026, he said.

These new developments will be located in Istanbul, Ankara, Muğla, Elazığ and Düzce.

In evaluating the outlook in the market, Şapkacı noted that shopping malls in Türkiye generated approximately $55 billion in revenue in 2024.

He added that mall productivity per square meter increased by 29.5 percent year-on-year in nominal terms in the first half of 2025, although it remained below inflation on average.

After a dip in April, retail activity rebounded in May due to holiday shopping, with June figures showing a 24.3 percent year-on-year increase in productivity — still underperforming relative to inflation due to a strong base effect from the previous year.

Şapkacı noted that hypermarkets and clothing sectors showed the closest performance to inflation in the first half of 2025, while categories like footwear lagged behind.

He stressed that sectors tied to essential spending, such as health and groceries, are less affected by price increases and will likely maintain momentum.