Given that Muslims account for 60% of Malaysia’s total population, the celebration of Ramadan and Hari Raya holds significant importance among Malaysian Muslims. To celebrate Hari Raya, Muslims will buy delicacies, new clothes, daily necessities, new furnitures and gifts during the month of Ramadan. This period also indicates an unmissable opportunity for online business owners, SMEs and brands as it is the perfect moment to drive sales during this festive season.
This year’s Ramadan will begin on 22 March, and Eid al-Fitr will take place on 22 April. Want to launch marketing campaigns for Ramadan and Hari Raya in advance? Read on!
The 4 Phases of Consumers’ Behavior & Booming Industries During Ramadan
According to a survey by Google, Malaysians love sales campaigns with plenty of promotions and discounts, and they will head online to research about the product they intend to purchase before buying it. The behavior of Malaysian Muslims can be categorized into four phases starting from the first day of Ramadan till Hari Raya.
- The 1st week of Ramadan: Most Malaysians will search for brands and product information online. Statistics revealed that 94% of consumers believe that it is important to research about the product before buying it.
- The 2nd week of Ramadan till Hari Raya: This is the peak moment of sales in Malaysia, as Muslims will make purchases to prepare for a grand Hari Raya celebration.
- Hari Raya: Restaurants and brick-and-mortar stores will experience high traffic as Muslims will resume their usual daily routine, heading out to enjoy delicious meals with friends and family.
- The week after Hari Raya: Muslims will spend on huge, expensive items within this week after receiving “Duit Raya”.
According to Meta’s 2023 report, the top selling product category during Ramadan is food and beverage (F&B), as 68% of Muslims revealed that food is their most purchased item during Ramadan. According to data, 38% of Muslims bought snacks and 34% used food delivery services during the fasting period. This is due to the fasting practice where Muslims cannot eat during the day and have to eat quickly at night, hence the high demand for snacks and food delivery.
The second top selling product category is fashion, as 55% of Muslims have bought new clothes during Ramadan. Other hot-selling categories include charity, beauty, religion and travel. What’s worth noting is compared to 2021, travel and fashion experienced the largest growth in 2022, so brands and online stores should seize this opportunity while they can!
3 Techniques to Target 97% of Malaysian Netizens: Video, Influencers and PM!
The pandemic has contributed to a surge of online users in Malaysia. According to a survey released this February, Internet usage rate is estimated to reach 96.8% this year, equivalent to more than 33 million people using Internet services, with an estimated majority of 95% using mobile devices to surf the Internet. To seize the Ramadan Sales opportunity, brands and online stores must pay attention to both their digital marketing strategy and optimize user’s shopping experience on mobile devices at the same time. How? Behold these top 3 techniques: Video, Influencers and PM!
Meta’s latest survey shows that 65% of Muslims will spend more time watching videos during Ramadan, and 59% of potential consumers prefer brands that collaborate with trusted influencers. Most of the online videos watched by Muslims during Ramadan were games, music, food, beauty and fashion. Videos related to religion, spirituality, travel and lifestyle also gained high view counts during this period. This signifies that if online stores in relevant industries want to drive sales during Ramadan, video content and influencers should be included in their marketing strategy. Leveraging influential social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, collaborating with influencers and launching ads in advance will give you the upper hand.
Don’t forget that PM is an essential part of the online business strategy, especially for Malaysians. Meta indicated that during Ramadan, 70% of Internet users used PM to gain more shopping information, while 65% of surveyees mentioned that compared to emails or phone calls, they prefer to PM and chat with merchants. Thus it is obvious that brands and online business owners should ready their PM channels(e.g. WhatsApp, Messenger) during Ramadan to build rapport with consumers and guide them to make the final purchase.
Build a 3-Phase Ramadan Marketing Plan to Stay Ahead of Competition
Nevertheless, fierce competition is inevitable during Ramadan. Meta conducted a survey and discovered that most Muslims are attracted by social ideals during Ramadan. Therefore, online stores or brands should build marketing strategies centered on kindness, good virtues and contribution to gain buyers’ approval of the brand’s value, and finally lead them to make the final purchase.
Apart from this, many Muslims who work or study abroad will return to Malaysia during Ramadan to reunite with their friends and families to celebrate Hari Raya. This phenomenon benefitted many industries such as tourism, transportation, F&B and gifting, giving rise to profitable business opportunities. The homesickness of returning students and professionals also brought plenty of business opportunities to local restaurants and grocery stores. Merchants can take advantage of this situation by placing ads to boost publicity or use AI to create automated marketing campaigns to target potential buyers with higher precision.
If you want to fully grasps each stage’s sales points, online business owners should create a three-stage marketing plan and set clear marketing goals for each stage. During the first stage, use attractive, creative and visually impactful ads to reach a large number of Muslim audiences. Next, display one’s unique selling points and create high-quality content, matched with contextual ads to establish connections with buyers in the second stage. Finally, aim for conversion at the third stage. Use automated marketing tools to target potential customers among Muslim consumers and to increase purchases.
There you go, here’s the essence to drive sales successfully during Ramadan! In the next article, we will share more on the top 5 hot-selling product categories of Ramadan and Hari Raya, including in-depth insights and exclusive strategies for these five categories. Stay up to date with cacaFly Malaysia’s latest articles as we bring you the latest exciting industry trends.
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