The holy month of Ramazan is celebrated by Muslims all over the world, with Pakistan being no exception. While it is a time of fasting, sacrifice and spirituality, it is also seen as a time to reconnect with family, friends and the larger community as a whole. With Muslims required to abstain from food and drink from dusk to dawn, the month means that employees generally have shorter working hours and spend more of their time engaging in prayer and meditation.
Consumer shopping habits also witness drastic changes in the month of Ramazan. As the holy month culminates with the onset of Eid, families immerse themselves in shopping for a variety of consumer products, with the most popular segments being clothes, apparel and accessories. The three-day Eid holiday at the end of Ramazan overflows with the spirit of generosity as elders bestow gifts to the younger members of the household, entertain guests and generally indulge in a period of celebration to mark the end of a month of restraint and discipline.
In some Muslim countries, it is estimated that shopping in the month of Ramazan alone exceeds the amount spent in all of the other eleven months. According to a study done by University of Canterbury’s Jedrzej Bialkowski, University of New Hampshire’s Ahmad Etebari and University of Leicester’s Tomasz Piotr Wisniewski, business outlook in Muslim countries during the month of Ramazan is overwhelmingly positive. In their analysis of stock market trends of the 14 most populous Muslim countries, they found average returns of 38.1 percent in the month as compared to just 4.3 percent in the other months of the year.
The change in individual routines during Ramazan means that traditional retail stores are usually closed for most part of the day and only open after iftar time. Furthermore, even after breaking their fast, many people continue to engage in prayer and worship, leaving little time to visit shopping malls and outlet stores which allows e-commerce websites to fulfil this particular need. Daraz.pk, one of Pakistan’s largest online stores, witnesses a particular uptick in orders during this month, with timing of orders suggesting that consumers prefer to shop at times that are convenient to them, rather than altering their routine to correspond to store timings.
Daraz.pk Marketing Manager Shamail Wasi confirmed this trend and stated that sales data suggested that shoppers were most active between 3p.m to 5p.m, with the second most popular segment being between 10:30 p.m to midnight. Furthermore, as design labels usually introduce new products during Ramazan, consumers spend time in browsing their favourite brands before settling on a particular dress, jewellery or fashion accessory.
Conservative estimates suggested that last year, the month of Ramazan generated a total consumption of Rs700 billion in Pakistan, with the clothing and apparel sector constituting the highest share, approximately 40 percent. Consumption is projected to increase this year as is the stake of the clothing sector, due to the fact that e-commerce websites have established footholds in parts of the country that were previously inaccessible to major retail brands.
The spirit of Ramazan and the celebrations during the Muslim holiday of Eid have consistently defied global economic trends, with high consumption witnessed even during periods of recession or deflated growth. Online shopping represents convenience, accessibility and ease, and as consumers become more aware of its benefits, this trend is expected to gain traction and account for increasingly larger proportions of overall retail sales.
Yes! In Pakistan we treat Ramazan as Shopping month of the year! Is it good?
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