Ramadan Muslim Consumer Behavior
Updated on January 2024
Six-Part Series
Part 1: Ramadan Muslim Consumer Behavior
Part 2: Preparing Your Products and Services for Ramadan
Part 3: Using Your Blog to Promote Your Brand for Ramadan
Part 4: Using Social Media to Gain Ramadan Buyers
Part 5: Mail and Email as Promoting Tools for Ramadan
Part 6: Creating a Community Around Your Brand for Ramadan
Bonus: What the Ramadan Consumer Survey 2022 Says About Advertising to Muslims During the Holy Month
In this first part, we will take a look at Muslim consumers’ behavior during the Ramadan period. There is no better way to start this than recapping our Ramadan 2020 blog’s Ramadan activity timeline.
Ramadan Consumer Activity Timeline
Pre-Ramadan and the Month of Shaban
Muslim consumer Ramadan activities start about a month before Ramadan itself. That means that you as a business owner or marketer need to start strategizing and planning today. In a 2022 survey by Muslim Ad Network, the majority of participants said that they start shopping for Ramadan a month before.
58% – said that they planned to start shopping for Ramadan 2022 a month ahead. We would advise running the first campaign as soon as you can. Then run another campaign a week before Ramadan since 41% of respondents indicated that they wait till a week before Ramadan to start buying.
Source: What the Ramadan Consumer Survey 2022 Says About Advertising to Muslims During the Holy Month
The First Half of Ramadan
During the initial phase of Ramadan, Muslims are filled with heightened enthusiasm for worship. These initial ten days provide a unique opportunity for your brand to be actively involved, offering emotional support to individuals as they embrace their renewed passion for worship and cherished family values. Make a meaningful presence that resonates with the spiritual essence of this period, fostering a connection with your audience during this special time of devotion and reflection.
By now your brand should have already done the lion’s share of ad campaigns and in this phase it should, for the most part, part should only do enough to motivate Muslim worshippers. Keep in mind that fasting Muslims will be online at some rather late hours and most of them will be on their mobile devices.
The Last Half of Ramadan
As Ramadan’s second half unfolds, consumers pivot towards Eid preparations, intensifying their online shopping activities. This period marks a crucial opportunity for your brand to cater to the heightened demand for products and services that enhance the festive spirit.
Crafting targeted advertising strategies, showcasing special Eid-themed offerings, and providing exclusive deals can establish a strong connection with Muslim families actively preparing for the joyous celebration. This dynamic landscape presents a valuable window for your business to tap into the evolving needs of its audience and contribute to the collective excitement surrounding Eid.
Exit Ramadan – Enter Eid
During Eid, Muslims go out and visit family, walk around shopping malls, eat out, go to amusement parks, and so on. However, they will still be on their devices. It would be best if you considered a good balance between optimizing your online and in-store offers.
Business Opportunities are Plenty During Ramadan
These stats speak for themselves:
Forbes reports from WebPals Group:
…during Ramadan, traffic was up by 230%. And it’s not just users who are only looking, people are buying. The data indicates that conversion is up by 30% during Ramadan. As you might expect, social media is more active as well, primarily at night. The increase peaks at 3 am when it reaches 200%. There is also evidence that customer loyalty, evidenced by repeat online visits and purchases, increases substantially during Ramadan as well.
According to WordBank:
78% of UK Muslim consumers would like to see increased engagement from brands and retailers. Although Muslim-majority countries may be better served, international brands are still lagging behind.
This is reinforced by Google who mention in their article: The super-empowered consumer in Ramadan that:
These changes in consumer behavior online translate into greater expectations from themselves and the brands they engage with. Consumers expect brands to innovate and accommodate their needs with fresh offerings, moving ads, and frictionless online user experiences.
It’s not all about retailers and eCommerce of course. Ramadan is the most spiritual month of the Islamic calendar. This is why according to CharityConnect, UK Muslims donate about £100 million every year at this time.
Sounds too good to be true? Here is some supporting evidence from Google:
Boost the impact of your Ramadan charity campaign donations by downloading the comprehensive Ramadan Charity Campaign Report:
When Ramadan is over, the enhanced Muslim buyer behavior does not just disappear. As mentioned earlier, Ramadan buyer behavior starts weeks before and lasts weeks after it has ended. It is up to you as a brand to keep that flame burning as much and as long as possible.
A point that not many marketing outlets make is that Islam has only two official celebration days. The Eid after Ramadan (Eid ul Fitr), and the Eid of the Pilgrimage to Makkah (Eid ul Adha). There are only two months between the two.
We have established that Muslim consumers before, during, and after Ramadan are very much looking to engage with brands and buy from them. If you can keep your Muslim customers engaged all the way through to Eid ul Adha, the business rewards can be immense.
In the upcoming parts of this blog series, we will tackle how to promote your business, brand, or organization for Ramadan.
Are you a Muslim-based business or a mainstream business looking to target Muslim consumers this Ramadan and beyond? Contact us at Muslim Ad Network to learn more.
Read the full Ramadan Survey Report 2022 (no email or download required).
