Ramadan Shopping Behaviors In UAE

Ramadan, the most holy season of the Islamic world, is just around the corner. Sharing joy, happiness, and spiritual enthusiasm with our loved ones are the most important qualities during Ramadan.

On the other hand, expectations of usage of the digital platforms started to increase in order to receive the most beautiful gifts and to make the most delicious meals accordingly. While everyone is preparing to share the joy of Ramadan with their family and experience this spiritual pleasure, few questions arise in the minds of advertisers and brands: What will be the preferences of consumers in terms of shopping in Ramadan this year? Which devices or digital platforms will be preferred?

 To bring light to these questions AdColony conducted research together with the independent research company GlobalWebIndex to analyze the mobile device usage of users, their shopping preferences on digital platforms, time spent on mobile devices, and the impact of the mobile ads on users in UAE.

56% of the respondents were male while 44% of the participants were female according to the Ramadan Survey which is conducted specifically in UAE. Most of the respondents aged between 16 to 34 with 46% reveals the level reached in the age of mobilization in the region.

While the time spent on smartphones is increasing day by day, 44% of respondents spend
1-3 hours online on their smartphones. 76% of people in UAE state that they are playing mobile games, while 41% of the respondents state that they will use their smartphones to play mobile games specifically during Ramadan. Time spent on mobile games is also increasing with 41% of the respondents spending 30 minutes to 2 hours playing mobile games during Ramadan. The most preferred time to play mobile games and to shop online is during fasting through the day between 12 PM to 6 PM with 33% and 30% respectively.

No one can deny that smartphones are a source of revenue for brands, but how willing are consumers to be part of this source? It turns out most of them are. 77% of the participants state that they will use their smartphones while shopping for Ramadan, while 67% of them say that they will shop within the application. 47% of respondents state that they will do shopping after iftar time.

While planning their media spend during this holy month; brands and agencies are willing to get to know more about their target audiences’ preferences. 54% of the respondents’ state that the ads that they encounter on their smartphones has a huge impact on their purchasing decision compared to TV with only 14%.

While we are all seeing different ads from different industries; 67% of users in UAE would like to encounter Food ads, followed by Apparel with 53%, and Household Products with 44% rounding up the top three.

When we analyze the industry-specific data; 45% of users in UAE will visit stores for their Ramadan grocery shopping, while 46% of them will shop online and use home delivery. 66% of users in UAE state that they will mostly cook at home during Ramadan, while 19% of them will mostly get takeout food.

Telecommunication is also very important during Ramadan. 62% of the users in UAE are expecting high speed internet connection.

47% of the users in UAE state that they are waiting for Ramadan promotions to purchase a car is proof that car buying is also increasing during Ramadan.

Women’s cosmetic expenses are increasing during Ramadan, while the cosmetics they bought the most were perfumes and fragrances with 42%, skin care with 35% followed by hair care with 34%.

66% of the respondents state that they will travel abroad during Ramadan while 18% of mobile gamers in UAE who love to travel prefer to buy transportation tickets online.

The undeniable access to mobile advertising continues to stand out as the most important factor in consumers’ buying tendencies. 66% of the respondents stated that they had previously made Ramadan shopping with their smartphones directly via mobile ads, and 84% stated that they would consider purchasing a product or service if the product served with the advertisement appeals to them.