Card spending at jewelers reached a new peak in January

The rapid rise in gold prices has also been reflected in payment methods. According to data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey on bank and credit cards, the amount of card transactions at jewelers reached an all-time monthly high of 69 billion 142 million TL in January 2026.

While the average transaction amount was 15 thousand 158 TL in January 2025, this figure rose to 29 thousand 667 TL in January 2026. Thus, an increase of over 100 percent was recorded on an annual basis.

This trend continued in the first half of February. In the week ending February 13, card spending at jewelers exceeded 33 billion TL. In the first 7 weeks of the year, a total of 102 billion TL in purchases were made at jewelers using cards. The upward trend in gold prices continues to increase the value of purchases made.

THE CHANGE IN CARD SPENDING IS STRIKING

According to the report by Sözcü, when weekly card spending data is examined, it is seen that total card spending decreased from 548.4 billion TL in the week of February 6 to 521.3 billion TL in the week of February 13.

While total spending decreased, the share of basic consumption categories increased. The share of grocery and shopping mall purchases in the total rose from 19.8 percent to 21.5 percent, while an increase was also observed in restaurant and food spending. The share of the food category also rose from 5.7 percent to 6.2 percent.

Thus, the share of grocery, shopping mall, and food spending in total card spending rose from 32.4 percent to 35 percent, indicating that consumer spending is increasingly directed toward basic needs.