Co-authored by: Puja Khandelwal, Manager – Brand Health Tracking at Ipsos in UAE, and Mahmoud Shammout, Head of Research, and Insights at TikTok METAP

 

Ramadan is about celebrating balance. This month-long Festival sees Muslims balance day-long fasting with glorious feasting after sunset, reaffirming their faith with renewed closeness with the community, sacrifice and benevolence with self-care and shopping. 

With memories of the pandemic beginning still fresh in the social consciousness, Ramadan, and Eid Al Fitr celebrations this year promise to be even bigger than last year. Three out of four people Ipsos surveyed said they were excited about Ramadan and Eid, and three in five people looked forward to spending more time with family and friends during this festive season. 

Brands can tap into this uptick and unlock new opportunities by inspiring users throughout Ramadan with meaningful content. 

Increased appetite for celebration and shopping

Excitement for Ramadan and Eid is high across age groups. In fact, 69% admitted to making plans in preparation for Eid. These preparations include making F&B purchases to be ready for the Ramadan season, shopping for home improvement products, planning holidays and staycations, and buying gifts for friends and family for Eid. All these become key motivators for shopping.

Shopping is top of mind before and during Ramadan. 

People especially spent more on travel as part of self-care. They turn to online platforms for awareness and inspiration for these purchases, especially video streaming platforms like TikTok. 

Entertainment is the main course

Users are fully immersed in TikTok during Ramadan for different reasons. Four out of five are looking for entertainment and fun on the platform, two out of three create, watch or share content, and over one in three feel TikTok makes them feel part of a network of like-minded people such as foodies, fashionistas, and travel buffs. Unsurprisingly, content consumption on TikTok grew across categories in the past year 

 

Above all, people are looking for entertainment from TikTok during Ramadan and Eid which increases their everyday usage of the platform. Almost half the surveyed TikTok users saw content related to entertainment on the platform. Entertainment content saw the highest consumption (8% higher vs. avg monthly). Among such users, entertainment content first sparks discovery and inspiration that leads to shopping.

TikTok: Your gateway to joining the celebrations.

TikTok is the ideal springboard for brands to connect with consumers during Ramadan. It is the mobile platform of choice with the highest average daily time spent and other promising data.

 

 Also, spends are higher for TikTok users and across more categories when compared to Average Ramadan Shoppers.

Also, the influence of TikTok content is not limited only to the native platform. IPSOS’ analysis of public social data also found that trends starting on TikTok were being amplified across the wider digital landscape during Ramadan by users. So, in today’s content and community-fueled digital economy, it is a no-brainer for brands to leverage TikTok to connect with and influence shoppers.

Belong differently within Ramadan moments and communities!

Digital native communities are key in delivering inspirational content and helping members discover new ideas and experiences for Ramadan. Brands need to tap into the bond TikTok users have with content creators and design campaigns that resonate with the spirit of love, celebration and benevolence associated with Ramadan, especially around categories such as food, gifting and home improvements.

It’s no surprise that content around food sees an uptick during Ramadan. In fact, 85% of users spend more time watching cooking videos during Ramadan. MENA alone saw 16 billion video views for food and drink content. All this also impacts shopping behaviour. 86% of users buy more F&B-related products during the festive month and 1 in 2 people say a video posted by a brand plays an active role when considering buying a product.

Shopping during Ramadan goes way beyond just stocking up the pantry. Gifting is a big part of Ramadan celebrations. 

 

TikTok becomes a source for users when looking for gifting ideas for others or even self-gifting. TikTok users are 2x more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered on the platform.

The motivation to shop is higher among TikTok users, so spends for both planned and unplanned purchases are higher when compared to Average Ramadan Shoppers. According to Ipsos’ 2022 research, more than Average Ramadan Shoppers. Brands will do well to use TikTok to connect with communities using the right balance of meaningful and inspiring content to belong differently and become a part of the celebrations.