How to promote your brand in Ramadan

Ramadan is set to start around 5^th of May this year, which is observed around the world by almost a quarter of the global population. Consumer behavior during this time changes significantly and you should be aware of what to expect to ensure you stay ahead of the curve.

Online Retail Sales:

In 2017; the online retail sales increased by 42% in theMiddle East region. To top it off 74% of retail sales were on mobile devices. The peak period is just before Iftar time between 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Could this be brands employing instant gratification tactics or people browsing mobile devices while sitting in traffic?

Do not put your potential customer on rational decision-making during this time; focus on funnel and provide no disruptions for quick checkout.

Gift Shopping:

Ramadan is a very social month with evening feasts celebrated amongst family and friends. The month ends with Eid Al Fitr which is three days of feasts. This means a lot of gift shopping.

Concentrate on providing an easy gift checkout process with ideally, assisted gift shopping funnel. To cross-sell and up-sell, ensure you start the marketing before Ramadan and provide incentives to buy multiple gifts in a single basket.

Online Travel Bookings:

In Gulf countries; a decent chunk of population are expat workers; they travel during Eid holidays. In the third week of Ramadan the travel bookings spike by 75%.

If you are not in the travel industry; then use personas to promote your 'gift' merchandise to take home with them. Offer destination delivery. 

Screen Time:

During Ramadan screen time of consumers increase drastically. With brands focusing on TV and consumers moving to paid subscriptions like Netflix without ads; the optimal way would be online video streaming services.

YouTube viewership increases drastically during Ramadan for following categories: TV & Comedy, Cooking and Recipes, Religion and Beliefs, Gaming and Automobiles. Clearly evident from the searches is gender gap in viewership audience. Use it to tailor your marketing messages.

Promotions:

Concentrate on promotions as consumers expect better deals during Ramadan. There is an overall increase in search during this month for deals and offers. Amongst these, “Hypermarket deals” and “car deals” are significant.

Online grocery stores should concentrate on their supply chain and try to provide delivery before Iftar (evening) feast time. Coupling this with lower cost of operations; we believe this category can grow their market share significantly. 

About Centric:

Centric is a digital transformation agency with strategic insight in the Middle East market; providing services to clients across the full spectrum of digital. From strategy to execution to marketing and brandbuilding.

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