Criteo data reveals retail sales increase during Ramadan

Criteo has released seasonal data to help e-commerce businesses better engage consumers during Ramadan. The data revealed by the performance marketing technology company demonstrated that retail sales and traffic in 2016 increased in the lead up to and during Ramadan, but declined slightly during Eid el-Fitr.

Criteo data analysed close to a million transactions from over 100 retail and travel advertisers based in the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia across desktop, smartphones and tablets.

Travel bookings grew incrementally in the last two weeks of Ramadan, and peaked in the subsequent two weeks post-Eid. Meanwhile, mobile retail purchases peaked in the two weeks leading up to Ramadan, increasing by 51 percent on average, whereas travel sales grew by 27 percent. Mobile travel bookings skyrocketed through Eid and the week afterward.

Criteo data also revealed that Ramadan traditions influence shoppers’ behaviour throughout the day. To engage with shoppers, retailers need to know when they are most active online. In comparison to the period prior to Ramadan where e-commerce transactions amounted to 73 percent during the day, transactions during Ramadan dropped to 64 percent. However, Criteo measured an increase in eCommerce sales to 36 percent, during the evening after consumers break their fast – an increase up from 27 percent at the same time period pre-Ramadan, representing a timely opportunity for retailers to reach out to shoppers.

“Ramadan is a cherished tradition in this region, and has an observable effect on the purchasing habits and online activity of shoppers,” said Dirk Henke, managing director, Emerging Markets, Criteo. “Retailers and travel providers need to accommodate the changes that take place in the lifestyles of millions of people across the region in order to effectively engage shoppers across all touchpoints.  Picking the right time of the week as well as the time of the day will be essential to optimising digital marketing efforts to deliver impactful content at every stage in the customer journey.”