ASSESSING STRATEGIC POSITIONING OF E-COMMERCE SITES: ANALYSIS OF TURKISH RETAIL MARKET Neslihan PAKER1 1. INTRODUCTION E-commerce has become a global phenomenon, and its growth has been expected to increase even more due to the shifting behavior of consumers affected by the pandemic. It is estimated that 2 billion people purchased goods or services online in 2020 resulting in a global e-commerce volume of 4.2 trillion US dollars (Statista, 2021). In this sense, Turkey has become a desirable e-commerce market to be invested in by Turkish companies and foreign partnerships due to its population exceeding 80 million (TUİK, 2021) and the accelerating e-commerce volume. According to the most recent industry estimates, Turkey will lead the market with a compound annual growth rate of 14.59 percent from 2020 to 2025 (Statista, 2021). As a result, the rivalry in the Turkish e-commerce market has picked up rapidly in recent years with e-commerce sites competing mainly through sales campaigns. Thus, diversifying and differentiating e-commerce sites have become more crucial than ever to ensure their long-term sustainability. As a robust solution, strategic positioning can help e-commerce sites in terms of developing their superior competitiveness in the market leading them to reap numerous benefits including increased customer engagement, brand recognition, and financial efficiency. On the other hand, it can be said that ecommerce practitioners have managed their businesses intuitively, and that academicians have conducted a limited number of empirical studies on the positioning strategies of Turkish e-commerce sites despite the aforementioned growing importance. The present study aims to assess through the lens of consumer perception the market positioning strategies used by e-commerce sites in 1 Assist. Prof. Dr., İzmir Kavram Vocational School, pakerneslihan@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0001-8087-7758. Logistics Program, 2 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… Turkey and how they vary by revealing similar and differentiating strategies. In the study, Trendyol, N11, Hepsiburada, Amazon Türkiye and GittiGidiyor are discussed, which are Turkey's most favorite online shopping sites. Qualitative research techniques were used with findings obtained from the semi-structured interviews conducted on e-commerce customers analyzed using the content analysis method via MaxQda 18.1.1 software. The key findings demonstrate that the websites appear to be extremely similar in terms of very secure shopping and sales incentives. On the other hand, their product group expertise is the most diverse attribute. Moreover, the websites stand out by offering innovative products and services despite the fact that the sales campaigns can be replicated in terms of discount rates and frequency. The following sections of the study provide an overview of the theoretical background of market positioning strategies and e-commerce in Turkey. The results of eight semi-structured interviews with customers are also provided. the findings, recommendations, and limitations are discussed at the end of the study. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Market Positioning Strategies The concept of market positioning popularized in consumer goods market during the 1960s. In 1969, Ries and Trout, the pioneers of the concept, described positioning as, “in the minds of target customers, positioning is a plan for “staking out turf” or “filling a slot.” (Saqib, 2020). In the following years, definitions that take into account the differentiation of the company from its competitors with increasing competition in the market started to gain popularity. As an example, Kotler and Keller (2012, p. 298) defined positioning as “the act of designing a company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market”. Lovelock and Wright (2001) suggest that the company can use its marketing efforts to promote different benefits if the primary benefits are identical to those provided by competitors. Market positioning studies are considered from various viewpoints in strategic marketing management literature, i.e., Porter's generic strategy, resource-based view, and market-driven policies such as segmentation-targeting-positioning (Attia & Hooley, 2007; Hooley & Greenley, 2005). All of them agree that strong positioning strategies are essential for a market-oriented company, and empirical studies have been conducted to determine the essential perceptions in the eyes of consumers regarding the company's position. Subsequently, companies should evaluate Neslihan PAKER 3 these findings in accordance with their targeted strategies and benchmark with rivals to remain competitive in the market. The positioning of a firm has a significant impact on how it operates and may act as a catalyst for strategic planning. Furthermore, strategic positioning supports the execution of communication strategy, since a well-positioned brand sets the company apart from its competitors. The study by Iyer, Davari, Zolfagharian, and Paswan (2019) revealed that the most essential drivers of brand success are the alignment of positive market orientation with quality-based positioning and responsive market orientation with brand image positioning. Moreover, a company's financial strength can also be influenced by its positioning (Coffie & Owusu‐Frimpong, 2014). It is seen that the companies have positioned themselves by mixing multiple strategies rather than utilizing a single strategy (Java, Blankson, & Kalafatis, 2007; Juga, Pekkarinen, & Kilpala, 2008). Accordingly, empirical studies point out that "reliability," "attractiveness," "support," and "value for money" are widely used by retailers in Accra Mall (Blankson, Ketron, & Coffie, 2017). The study by Java et al. (2007) also puts forth that there is no single positioning strategy that is significant across the Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Diners Club card brands. However, there are many scales development studies (Blankson & Kalafatis, 2004; Diwan & Bodla, 2011; Kalafatis, Tsogas, & Blankson, 2000) in literature with Java et al. (2007) point out that the contextual specifics of services should be taken into consideration when assessing the use of positioning techniques. 2.2. E-Commerce in Turkey Electronic commerce emerged during the mid-90s with the development of the internet. Amazon.com and e-Bay were launched in the United States of America as the first e-commerce sites. As a result of the growing volume of e-commerce, the average rate of online retail versus total retail has reached 11.1% in developed countries in 2018 (DeloitteDigital, 2019). On the other hand, Turkey is an emerging country that has caught a growth rate in e-commerce after the 2000s, with several e-commerce sites starting to provide service through domestic and foreign investments or partnerships. Today, Trendyol, GittiGidiyor, N11, Hepsiburada and Amazon Türkiye, Morhipo, Sahibinden.com, YemekSepeti, and Çiçeksepeti along with many other Turkish e-commerce sites have offered numerous items to the customers a wide variety comprising a 5.3% share of the total retail market. The first Turkish e-commerce site, GittiGidiyor started to operate in 2001 and was acquired by eBay in 2011. GittiGidiyor now delivers its services to 4 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… 33 million registered users with 22 million products in 50 categories at advantageous prices. Since 2001 Hepsiburada has been providing its clients with over 50 million products in around 40 categories. Some new players joined the market during the last decade. Trendyol was established in 2010 and received an investment from the Alibaba Group in 2018. The eCommerce website N11 was launched in 2012 in partnership with Doğuş Group and the SK Group, one of the leading firms of South Korea. Lately, Amazon Türkiye also joined the Turkish e-commerce market in 2018. 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Data Collection An interpretivist approach was used in the study since market positioning of the Turkish e-commerce sites has not been the subject of indepth discussions in the literature regarding customer perception. Data was collected through eight semi-structured interviews. Interviewees were chosen from among e-commerce customers via purposive sampling techniques. Participants with different characteristics such as education level, gender, age, income level, e-commerce experience and order frequency were preferred in order to increase the research validity. Interviews were concluded when no new comments for improving the research were received. The questions were designed to gather information on positioning strategies associated with the Turkish e-commerce sites. Interview questions were prepared based on the study of Blankson, Iyer, Owusu-Frimpong, Nwankwo, and Hinson (2020) on market positioning strategies (i.e., top of the range, attractiveness, service, reliability, value for money, country of origin) with further questions presented on the positioning of e-commerce sites. The following questions can be presented as examples: “With what factors do you think an e-commerce site should stand out in order to be preferable?”, “Do you think e-commerce sites use similar marketing elements or do they differentiate themselves from each other?”, “What is the most important reason you like or dislike an e-commerce site?”. Interviews were conducted from April to May 2021, with a total recording time of 5.5 hours. The average duration of the interviews was 41 minutes. 3.2. Characteristics of the Respondents Table 1 presents the characteristics for each respondent. Age, education level, gender, and income level, e-commerce experience and order frequency are mostly different among the respondents. 5 Neslihan PAKER Table 1. Characteristics of the Respondents Respondent Education Level R1 PhD Gender Age Male 49 R2 R3 Master Female 26 Undergraduate Male 33 R4 Undergraduate Female 24 R5 R6 R7 Undergraduate Male Undergraduate Male High School Male R8 PhD 27 58 29 Female 34 Income Level Upper Midlevel Midlevel Midlevel Upper Midlevel Midlevel Midlevel Midlevel Upper Midlevel E-Commerce Order Experience Frequency (years) (in a month) >20 3-4 5 12 3-4 >4 5 >10 8 6 10 2 1 >10 16 >30 3.3. Data Analysis The interviews were conducted and analyzed by a single researcher. In accordance with the suggestions by Krippendorf (2013), the researcher assessed the interviews via audio recording on several occasions in order to increase intra-coder reliability. The researcher followed an iterative approach by reviewing previously identified topics, fusing or separating them, and then stopping the process upon obtaining consistent results. There were two sequential stages to the coding process (Neuman, 2006). During the open coding stage, a rough coding schema was created, describing essential phrases and the hierarchy of codes. There were three main themes with a total of 15 sub-codes. Subsequently, the coding schema was adjusted by unifying two sub-codes with the other codes, and the axial coding step yielding the final version of the schema. The researchers also doublechecked the purpose of the member checking procedure with their participants by sharing the tentative summarized results at the end of the interviews in order to increase credibility (Given, 2008). MaxQda software version 18.1.1 was used to analyze the data. Table 2 shows the 153 codes obtained under three main themes: factors of preference, reasons for affective attitude, perceived similarities and differences. 6 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… Table 2. The Final Coding Table Factors of Preference 1.Top of the range 2.Service 3.Value for money 4.Reliability 5.Attractiveness 6.Country of Origin THEMES Reasons for Affective Attitude 1.Reasons for liking 2.Reasons for disliking Perceived Similarities and Differences 1.Top of the range 2.Value for money 3.Reliability 4.Attractiveness 5.Country of Origin 4. FINDINGS The following sections present three main themes, related sub-themes, figures, and comments received on obtained themes. 4.1. Factors of Preference The respondents classified the factors affecting their web site preferences into six categories: service, reliability, top of the range, value for money, attractiveness, and country of origin, which are consistent with the study of Blankson et al. (2020). The interviewee state that they expect the websites to be simple and understandable with clear directions for navigation, and that it should have convenient payment options, as well as appropriate product information accompanied by scaled photographs. They typically emphasized the importance of prompt response, particularly when confronted with a crisis that requires personal attention. In addition, the respondents stated that they perceive the entire e-commerce service as a single package. Thus, in addition to providing direct services like selling, web sites should ensure that their mediated services, such as cargo transportation, are of high quality. The return policy should be straightforward, and customers should be able to return products that do not match their expectations without hesitation. Furthermore, there must be a considerable number of positive and negative customer comments for ensuring the trustworthiness of websites. The brand name is significant since it establishes the trustworthiness of the e-commerce site. The respondents also prefer the e-commerce site where the best prices are offered. Web site design in terms of attractiveness and country of origin were also mentioned as affecting factors, however they were not stated as frequently as the others. Figure 1 depicts the factors to preference expressed during the interviews, whereas Table 3 contains quotations. Neslihan PAKER Figure 1. Factors of Preference 7 Table 3. Preference Factors of E-Commerce Sites with Quotations Themes Service Ease of use Sufficient Content Complaint Handling Search speed Personal Attention to Customer Quotations “I want the product I'm looking for to be easily found. Sometimes I don't even know what keywords to use to find the product, waiting for the site to guide me. For example, I don't know how to search for a shirt collar t-shirt. If the site directs me to the product I am looking for, I think this site is successful” (R1) “The website should contain sufficient explanation and information about the product I am looking for. For example, when I want to buy an electronic product, I should be able to find the information I need, such as how to use it and warranty conditions” (R2) “There should be all kinds of information about that product and a photograph from every angle so that I can be sure that I do not buy a product different from the image” (R4) “When a problem arises, it is important that my problem is solved immediately and that I receive some feedback” (R4). “I should be able to reach the contact persons of the company when there is a problem. In addition, the quality of the communication they establish with me is also very important. ”(R5) “It is important that the site has ranking criteria. Many websites are very inadequate in this regard” (R1) “We may have digitized shopping, but our expectation is the care we are used to in face-to-face shopping” (R6) “If I am going to buy a special product that is dependent on the product, for example, if I say to the seller, please send the raffia with care and they send it with such care, even if they say that we do not have this color but another one, it is a wonderful thing for me” (R8) 8 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… Themes Supplier Performance Quotations “The site should not give me any trouble in terms of cargo delivery. So the website should serve me well with all business stakeholders” (R4) “I do not prefer a site where I had a shipping problem before” (R6) Reliability No problem return policy “There are products from different vendors on their website, and I'm disappointed with some of them. I want to be able to return such products without any problems. For example, Amazon is very successful in this regard, it accepts returns immediately” (R1) Security “Most importantly, the security of my credit card information and my information is important. Like everyone else, I register my card information on the site for easy shopping. In this sense, I should have no worries” (R4) “The security of electronic sites is still not fully settled in my mind. I go to sites that I think are safe. Virtual channel or security password applications are a bit of a relief” (R6) Update and Reliable Information “Sometimes after ordering, the product is out of stock, it cannot be supplied. This is confidence breaking. The site should share out-of-stock information before ordering” (R2) Product Originality “It is very important that the product sold on the site is not an imitation. My cousin had a similar problem last year. I need to be able to trust the site in this regard” (R3) Customer Reviews “If there are no reviews on a product, I stay away from that product. I want to see both positive and negative comments on the site” (R3) "The presence of positive-negative user comments on the site directly affects my decision" (R5) Top of The Range The brand name “It should be a site that everyone knows and uses. In this sense, I also trust that site”(R4) “Even if I find the product on other sites under more favorable terms, it is important to have a site whose name I know. Maybe I will shop from the other one without any problem, but I can't trust it" (R5). A Wide Range of Choices “The fact that the site offers me various options has a positive effect on my choice. I would also like to see different sellers of the same product” (R4) Leader in The Market “Trendyol has many innovative applications. For example, Trendyol wallet. Not only me, but many of my friends prefer this site for this feature” (R4) Neslihan PAKER Themes Value for Money Sales Promotions Value for money Quotations 9 “Recently I wanted to buy a sunscreen. Two products were sold at a website for the price of one. I prefer such campaigns” (R2) “I have purchased more than 7000 TL from a site since January, they did not even give a 10 TL gift check. Why should I prefer it?" (R5) “I prefer whichever site gives the best price. I even bought the white goods of my house online” (R3) “Definitely the first thing I look at is price” (R8) Attractiveness Elegant Appearance Impressive Images Country of Origin Patriotism Country of Origin “I think the website should be simple and not too tiring. Campaigns or something should be defined within the product, not on the home page, it creates a feeling of confusion” (R2) “I love the orange colors of Hepsiburada. For example, this is very attractive to me, it affects me positively” (R7) “The product should not be orange with a red background. The image used and the page should be compatible and pleasant” (R2) “Some websites dress up the models and upload the photo, some just show the product. Of course, the image is much more attractive when it is on a fashion model” (R8) "I prefer Turkish web sites, I don’t like foreign sites" (R4) “The fact that Gittigidiyor is in partnership with E-Bay gives me confidence. I think it is positive that it is a part of such global companies” (R5) “If you place an order from Amazon, you know that it will be delivered to you. We are happy that they have started to serve our country”(R7) 4.2. Reasons for Affective Attitude The reasons for affective attitude are categorized as illustrated in Figure2. Although the most advanced reasons are the best price offer, userfriendliness and numerous options, failure to deal with complaints and costly options, long delivery times are frequently mentioned as reasons for dislike. The respondents also stated that excessive sales campaigns bother them rather than convincing them to make a purchase, and limited number of reviews also made customers reluctant to have confidence in e-commerce sites. Figure 2 shows the reasons for the affective behavior of interviewees and quotes are presented in Table 4. 10 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… Table 4. The Reasons for Affective Attitude with Quotations Quotations Reasons for Liking Value for money Easy to use A wide range of choices No problem return policy Convenient “It gives the best prices, I always prefer it” (R5) “I find what I am looking for easily” (R1) “It is very simple to use; I automatically open up that website” (R2) “It is very easy to use. I can easily order through my mobile phone, and I know that everyone uses it frequently. ”(R4) “I prefer this site because it offers me more options regarding the product group I'm interested in” (R3) “It's amazing that I can easily return it. Money is transferred to my Trendyol wallet instantly” (R4) “My credit card or something is defined there. I do my shopping right away, it's very practical” (R1) Reasons for Disliking Complaint Handling Value of money Delivery time Excessive price campaigns No problem return policy Patriotism Customer Reviews “Years ago I had a problem. I made very long phone calls and kept calling the site, they never called me and were not interested. Never again did I shop from that site ”(R2) “I do not prefer the prices because they are more expensive than other sites” (R4) “I think the delivery time of this site is long” (R3) “They are making an excessive price campaign. I find the campaigns psychologically oppressive” (R1) “I don't like the return process, it's problematic” (R4) “I dislike companies with headquarters in America” (R4) “They censor customer reviews” (R5) Figure 2. Reasons for Affective Attitude Neslihan PAKER 4.3. Perceived Similarities and Differences 11 When asked to evaluate the similarities and differences between five ecommerce sites (Trendyol, N11, Hepsiburada, Amazon Türkiye, Gittigidiyor) the participants indicated the highly similar websites in terms of highly secure shopping and sales promotions. They explained that the most diverse features of e-commerce sites are their expertise in product groups. For instance, Trendyol is considered as a web site for textiles, N11 for electronics. Although the sales campaign is defined in terms of discount rates and frequency in a similar manner, the websites differ through the innovative products they offer. Trendyol wallet, self-service cargo delivery promotion, options for using different credit cards for the same order, specialized debit card for the e-commerce site, and quick discounts for 3-4 hours are some examples of such innovations. Respondents also stated that they perceived e-commerce websites differently in terms of personalities. However, while all e-commerce sites are trustworthy, respondents have mentioned that some of them, in particular, perform exceptionally well in the order return process. Furthermore, they stated that some the design of the website can be a differentiator. Colors, well-chosen photos, and image placements are sometimes highlighted as attributes that contribute to the elegance of the e-commerce site. In addition, some e-commerce sites positioned themselves by emphasizing their Turkishness in advertisements, as reported by respondents. Figure 3 depicts perceived similarities and differences between e-commerce sites by customers, and Table 5 contains quotes. Table 5. Perceived Similarities and Differences Among the Web Sites with Quotations Themes Quotations Top of The Range Expertise in product groups “N11 stands out in electronic products, for example. If I'm going to buy a printer, I prefer N11, but if I'm going to buy household items, I prefer Gittigidiyor”(R1) Innovative “Trendyol is releasing a lot of new applications. For example, Trendyol Wallet provides easy returns and a small return on money. I also like the Delivery Point application, I always use it. But others imitate them soon after” (R4) “Hepsiburada can distribute spending on multiple credit cards as you wish. This feature is not available anywhere else, I really like this innovative feature” (R5) 12 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… Themes Brand Personalities Quotations “All of these websites have different personalities. For example, Amazon is like the rich kid on our site. ….Gittigidiyor used to be a local shopkeeper, now he is doing this job” (R1) Reliability No Problem Return Policy Security Customer Reviews “I think Trendyol is the most comfortable and easy site in this sense. For example, they refund your money immediately thanks to Trendyol Wallet” (R2) “Amazon returns your money based on your sales history, without asking for a refund” (R5) “You can return the product you bought from Amazon within 1 month. No other site does this” (R7) “I think that they are all at a high level in terms of security and do not differentiate” (R2) “I think Trendyol and Gittigidiyor differentiates from the others in terms of rich customer comments” (R3) “Trendyol stands out with its rich customer reviews. Other sites have very few customer reviews” (R4) Attractiveness Web Sites Design Impressive Images Value for Money Sales Promotions Cargo Fee “I find Hepsiburada and Trendyol very similar in terms of the color and product grouping they use. However, others differ slightly” (R2) “Some websites can improve their search filters so that you can find the product you are looking for very quickly and easily” (R6) “I like the colors of Hepsiburada. The fonts are big, they have distributed the products. I think it differs from others” (R7) “I think there are 3 clusters as Amazon, Trendyol and others. It is as if we learned the design of the website from Trendyol ... Trenyol is like a reference point to evaluate others "(R8) “Trendyol uses its own fashion models with meticulously arranged photographs. But other sites are not like this” (R3) “I think they all do the same thing as sales campaigns. For example, someone starts a spring campaign, and then the other does it too” (R2) “They all copy each other. Legendary Friday, Fabulous Sale etc. they do it back to back. Amazon is differentiating a little” (R5) “Sales campaigns are very similar. A product goes on sale on one site, then you look at it and it's on another” (R7) “Trendyol has special campaigns as fast as 15 minutes, 3 hours” (R8) “They have different practices for displaying the shipping price. For example, some add the shipping fee when the product is added to the cart, while others add the shipping fee after placing the order” (R2) Neslihan PAKER Themes Country of Origin Patriotism Quotations 13 “I think Trendyol highlights the Turkish identity” (R3) “Trendyol advertises that its sellers and products are Turkish” (R4). Figure 3. Perceived Similarities and Differences 4.4. The Assessment of Strategic Positioning of E-Commerce Sites Respondents were asked to rate the importance of each positioning strategy (e.g., attractiveness, top of the range) from 1 to 5 (i.e., 1-the least important and 5-the most important) and they rated Trendyol, N11, Hepsiburada, Amazon Türkiye, and Gittigidiyor e-commerce sites based on their perception. The importance level of the strategy was calculated by taking the average rating of all respondents into account. According to the interviewees, the most important factors for choosing an e-commerce site for shopping were reliability and service, with respective scores of 4.9 and 4.8 out of 5. They were followed by value for money (4.1) and attractiveness (3.4). Almost all respondents indicated that the country of origin has no bearing on their purchasing decision. Subsequently, they evaluated the aforementioned strategies for these e-commerce sites. According to the findings, Amazon Türkiye is the most distinct in terms of positioning strategies such as top of the range, service, value for money, and reliability. Trendyol, on the other hand, is the far most appealing e-commerce site with Hepsiburada distinguishing itself from other web sites by their Turkishness. 14 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… The acquired results are presented in Table 6 with Figure 4 depicting a perception map of strategic positioning of e-commerce sites by comparing the importance level of strategies. Figure 4. Strategic Positioning of E-Commerce Sites Top of the Range 5,0 4,0 Country of Origin 3,0 Service 2,0 1,0 Attractiveness Value For Money Trendyol HepsiBurada GittiGidiyor Reliability N11 AmazonTürkiye Importance Level of the Strategy 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The aim of the present study was to examine the market positioning strategies of e-commerce sites in Turkey and to discern how they differ by exposing comparable and differentiated methods through the lens of consumer perception. Based on the obtained results, Amazon Türkiye stands out as the best in terms of positioning strategies such as the top of the range, service, value for money, and reliability. Hepsiburada, on the other hand, distinguishes itself from the other websites through Turkishness, and Trendyol is by far the most attractive e-commerce site. Blankson et al. (2017) reported that retailers generally follow the same strategies, which makes it difficult to distinguish one from the others. In general, although Turkish e-commerce sites have shared similar strategies, they also have different attributes for using positioning in customer perception. Firstly, in terms of very secure shopping, the websites appear to be very similar. In fact, aside from being the most popular one, reliability is an essential Neslihan PAKER 15 strategy that every e-commerce site should implement and being a good brand will contribute to this strategy. Many studies support these findings. As an example, the study conducted by Yılmaz and Karakadılar (2019) also revealed that the biggest concern of Turkish customers is security in ecommerce shopping. Moreover, Huseynov and Yıldırım (2017) along with Nisar and Prabhakar (2017) mentioned that the risk of monetary loss and the danger of loss of privacy are significant concerns if the online retailers are untrustworthy. Furthermore, a lack of reviews makes buyers hesitant to trust e-commerce companies. Turkish e-commerce sites are considered as reliable based on the interview findings. Castelli, Manzoni, Vanneschi, and Popovič (2017) highlight that e-commerce managers who provide customers with the option to rate a product and rating current reviews will have a competitive advantage over e-commerce companies that do not offer these capabilities. Thus, availability of many customer reviews and hassle-free return policy will also increase the impact of this positioning for e-commerce sites. On the other hand, it was observed that high service quality is the strategy that can make a differentiation in the market. According to the results, the service scores of e-commerce sites have not met the expectations of the customers and it has been found that Amazon Türkiye has the highest score with 4.4. The findings also illustrate that the customers do not perceive e-commerce sites differently regarding service positioning strategy. Hence, all Turkish e-commerce sites should improve their service performance to provide sufficient content and customer relationship in addition to faster cargo delivery. In addition, the competence of Turkish e-commerce sites in product groups is perceived as the most diversified attribute. Thus, ecommerce sites may continue to strengthen some product lines at least to gain a competitive edge in some areas. Value for money and attractiveness come in second and third respectively in terms of having an impact on customer preference. These results were in accordance with the results of the study on Accra Mall retailer, in which "reliability," "attractiveness," and "value for money" were among the widely used strategies (Blankson et al., 2017). The respondents did not mention the significant importance of the value of money. However, they stated that innovative sales campaigns such as quick discounts, Trendyol wallets are the differentiator attributes of websites. Actually, even though the sales campaign is repeatable in terms of discount rates and frequency, the Turkish websites stand out by offering innovative products and services. Nisar and Prabhakar (2017) state that e-commerce is also being used as an innovation method to help businesses become more competitive. 16 Assessing Strategic Positioning: Of E‐Commerce Sites: Analysis Of Turkish… The customers perceived these sites as market leaders since they were among the pioneers in this field and product line expansion was evaluated with a very welcoming approach for preference of websites. Parallels can be drawn between this finding and the results of the study by Filson (2004) on Amozon Company. Some of the respondents also claimed that excessive sales pitches irritate them rather than enticing them to make a purchase. Huseynov and Yıldırım (2017) emphasized that there are different customer segments in the e-commerce market. Each identified customer segment was discovered to have distinct traits. For example, coupon redemption consistently receives higher-than-average ratings for the transient segment customer, gets less attention for need-based segment customers. Thus, ecommerce companies should keep using these strategies intensively, however, just for their target segments. Moreover, elaborate designs of the websites make them attractive in the eyes of the customer despite the fact that it actually has a low importance level with a score of 3.4. It was observed that Trendyol has positioned itself differently since they utilize their model for textile products promotions. Thus, e-commerce sites can use that kind of well-designed image to be perceived differently. Moreover, although the top of the range had a low score, it is mentioned with the trustworthiness towards of e-commerce sites. Thus, having a well-known brand name will instill trust in the customers as well. Interestingly, the country of origin did not influence the purchasing decision of customers. 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