The month of Ramadan is almost here, and for all Muslims around the world, they are expected to observe a one-month long fasting period from dawn to dusk. It’s the time for self-reflection, spiritual improvements, and heightened devotion to their faith. The holy month of Ramadan lasts for 29 to 30 days and followed by the celebration of Eid al-Fitr or otherwise known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast which serves as a religious holiday for Muslims worldwide to celebrate the end of Ramadan and welcoming the beginning of Shawwal.
Image source: Cornell University Library
Today, Islam is the majority religion in Brunei (75%), Indonesia (87%), and Malaysia (66%), and with approximately more than 250 million Muslims in Southeast Asia that translates to approximately 42% of the entire population, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are two of the biggest celebrations in the SEA region. This also means that it’s one of the best opportunities for business.
Every year, during Ramadan, trends have shown that businesses are expected to experience a dramatic increase in sales and traffic without fail. It is indeed a lucrative period for business owners. In Southeast Asia, the spike in online retail sales and traffic began 10 days into Ramadan and will continue through the 10 days before Eid al-Fitr.
This is due to the fact that a huge number of people observing the religious month will be willing to purchase and spend on clothes, food, ingredients, decorations, and many new things as a preparation to welcome guests as deep-rooted religious traditions highlight the value of honoring guests and treating guests well.
According to a report by iPrice Group in 2018, consumption via online shopping increased greatly just a few days into Ramadan. This is evident with the double-digit growth in online sessions that serves to signal that there are unique consumer insights that only occur during the month of Ramadan.
This is also evident with the year on year growth of the total sales for Fave’s Ramadan and Eid campaign in 2018 and 2019.
Ramadan is admittedly one of the biggest campaign seasons for businesses in Southeast Asia. With more active users on Fave, we are predicting higher sales growth in 2020.
Data on Deals Purchases During Ramadan
Best Selling Deals
Based on a full analysis conducted by the Fave’s data analyst team, the best selling deal structure in Malaysia for Ramadan is definitely the,
then the Muslimah friendly spa, hair cut & hair treatment by beauty and wellness and finally servicing deals by other categories. The average selling price of our top 10 best deals in Malaysia is MYR37.30.
Similar to Malaysia, the best selling deal structure in Singapore is the all-you-can-eat buffets followed by set menus, then spa and massage. While in Indonesia, the best selling deals are facials followed by cash vouchers and brows and lashes.
In terms of location for Malaysia, our data which is drawn based on the place of top-selling vouchers sold indicated the top five locations for deals purchases are mostly located in areas populated by hotels. The locations include the KL City Centre, Bukit Bintang, Bukit Damansara, KLCC and Presint Putrajaya.
Demographic and User Behavior
The estimated average spending per transaction for this demographic was MYR 359 for Malaysia, SGD 34.29 for Singapore and IDR 152,937 for Indonesia.
followed by Tuesday, while the highest number of deals purchased in Singapore and Indonesia is on Tuesday also from 12 PM to 3 PM.
The data also indicated bulk-purchasing behavior by users in the Ramadan month where they purchase more than one deal in a single transaction, especially for buffet deals. The bulk-purchasing trend also consists of cross-category deals purchases. To put things into perspective, out of 6,376 users who bought buffet deals, 412 users also made at least a single transaction of B&W deals and 191 users made a transaction of lifestyle deal.
How Businesses Can Take Action from the Data Above
The data above suggest some actionable insights that will help businesses benefit from the lucrative Ramadan and Eid period. So here we list out the tips and tricks to boost sales during Ramadan and Eid.
- List a deal with a proven best selling deals structure
- Join Fave’s Online Ramadhan and Raya campaign
- Start planning early and participate as early as now
- Create urgency for consumers to purchase by putting up your deal on a Flash Sale (Eg, 8-hours only sale). The sales could spike up to 5x more compared to normal hours.
To continue boosting sales throughout the period, below are some tips on how to optimize during non-peak hours when Muslims are fasting. We recommend Smart Cashback.
What is Smart Cashback?
- It's a customizable amount of cashback to be granted at selected hours, days, or weeks.
- If your outlet is currently providing a 10% cashback for each transaction. To optimize the non-peak hours, we recommend setting a 15% cashback to encourage diners and shoppers to purchase from 2 PM - 5 PM daily.
- Tips: Refer to FaveBiz insights to see your outlet's low-peak hours and days
- It has been proven to help businesses to increase 2.5x more sales during non-peak hours.
As Ramadan is nearing, we would like to remind you to mark this campaign in your calendar and start preparing early!
