Trendyol Redefines E-Commerce in the Gulf with Localisation, AI, and SME Empowerment
Trendyol is reshaping the Gulf’s e-commerce landscape with AI-driven personalisation, local partnerships, and major investments in data infrastructure.
Türkiye-based e-commerce powerhouse Trendyol is fast reshaping the online retail landscape across the Gulf through a strategy built on hyper-localisation, AI-driven innovation, and strong partnerships with local SMEs.
Founded in 2010, Trendyol has grown from a homegrown marketplace into a global decacorn valued at $16.5 billion in 2021. With more than 40 million customers worldwide, the company’s expansion into the GCC region underscores its ambition to become the leading digital commerce platform in the Middle East.
As a sponsor of GITEX Global 2025, Trendyol will showcase its latest AI-powered technologies and e-commerce solutions on October 15, signaling a new era of tech-led retail growth in the region.
Trendyol’s Strategy: Hyper-Localisation and Gulf Growth
President Çağlayan Çetin describes Trendyol’s success in the Gulf as the product of deep localisation and on-the-ground investment. The company has built dedicated offices, regional warehouses, and local teams to ensure faster deliveries and stronger seller support. Gulf Business
Today, Trend yol serves over 3.7 million customers in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia emerging as its largest international market—accounting for 75% of regional orders. “You cannot operate from a distance,” says Çetin. “Local businesses are at the heart of our strategy.”
More than 5,000 Gulf-based sellers are now active on the platform, and 35% of all products sold in the region come from SMEs and local brands. Strategic collaborations with Zid and Monsha’at in Saudi Arabia are helping thousands of entrepreneurs—from female-led fashion startups to home décor artisans—scale their businesses through Trendyol.
AI and Infrastructure Powering Scale
Trendyol’s 2,000-strong tech team ensures that artificial intelligence drives every part of its ecosystem—from personalised product recommendations and Arabic-language search to real-time analytics for sellers. The Trendyol Assistant, a multilingual AI agent, enhances customer service and loyalty, while AI tools help merchants forecast demand and manage inventory efficiently.
The company’s infrastructure investments are equally ambitious. Trendyol is building a $500 million, 48MW data center in Ankara in partnership with Castle Investments to support its 40-million-plus users. It is also collaborating with ADQ, Ant International, and Baykar to launch a fintech platform offering digital payments and financial services. Further, plans are underway to develop a cloud computing business with support from Alibaba’s AliCloud.
Expanding the Digital Silk Road
Leveraging Türkiye’s strategic location, Trendyol aims to extend operations to Iraq and Syria, introducing a new transit trade route through Iraq to boost logistics efficiency across the GCC. Partnerships with last-mile providers such as Aramex, Starlink, and Saudi Post have already cut delivery times from nine to around four days.
Çetin believes the company’s long-term focus on localisation and technology will define the next phase of e-commerce in the region. “By focusing on customer satisfaction, technological advancement, and sustainable local investment, Trendyol is well positioned to lead the Gulf’s digital transformation,” he says.