Ramadan: A Daily Journey Through Consumer Behavior
NielsenIQ Launches Ramadan Advent Calendar 2026 to Unveil Daily Market Insights Across the Middle East & Africa.
NielsenIQ’s Ramadan Advent Calendar 2026 will bring insights to life, with daily data points delivered throughout the month to help brands, retailers, and manufacturers unlock regional opportunities, plan better, and grow faster.
By leveraging NielsenIQ’s full end-to-end and omni‑capabilities, the initiative aims to deepen understanding of consumer behavior during Ramadan and guide businesses across MEA in optimizing their commercial strategies for the year’s most influential retail period.
The initiative covers 10 key Middle East and North Africa markets:
UAE, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco
Ramadan remains one of the most commercially significant periods in the Middle East and Africa. NielsenIQ data shows that Ramadan contributes nearly 19% of annual FMCG sales and 15% of annual Tech & Durables (T&D) sales across the Middle East and North Africa regions.
During Ramadan 2025, the market witnessed strong momentum across sectors:
FMCG: Food Categories Lead Exceptional Growth
Ramadan 2025 demonstrated significant year‑on‑year gains:
- +20.2% value growth and +7.9% unit growth vs. Ramadan 2024
- Food categories accounted for 81.7% of sales value, with Non-Food contributing 18.3%
Value growth by category:
- Food: +20.9%
- Non-Food: +16.8%
Growth was strong across all channels:
- E-commerce: +45.4%
- Traditional Trade: +24.4%
- Modern Trade: +16.9%
Innovation remained central to Ramadan performance, with 500 to over 4,000 new Food and Non-Food SKUs launched across MEA markets. Private label continued to rise regionally, with growth observed in all countries except Kuwait, Jordan, and Lebanon.
Top-selling categories remained consistent, with 75% of Ramadan FMCG sales driven by Grocery, Beverages, Dairy, and Confectionery.
Tech & Durables: Telecom and Cooling Products Lead Ramadan Demand
Across the MENA 6 markets (UAE, KSA, Türkiye, Morocco, Oman, Egypt), T&D sales grew by 7.4% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Sector Highlights
- Telecom (+9.4%), Major Domestic Appliances (+1.4%), and IT (+5.6%) drove the strongest revenue gains.
- Smartphones alone generated an additional $290M during Ramadan 2025.
- Seasonal demand boosted home climate categories, especially:
- Air Conditioners (+$104M)
- Vacuum Cleaners (+$50M)
- Steam Cleaners (+$17M)
Ramadan contributed approximately 15% of annual T&D sales across MENA, with the UAE (16.2%) and Saudi Arabia (16.3%) seeing the highest share.
Omni-channel Transformation
E-commerce maintained its momentum, contributing 30% of total T&D revenue during Ramadan 2025 across MENA6 — reinforcing the need for fully integrated omni-channel strategies during key seasonal moments.
Market-Specific Trends
- Air Conditioners delivered the strongest revenue growth, particularly in:
- UAE (+41%)
- Türkiye (+44%)
- Saudi Arabia (+19%)
- Telecom delivered remarkable absolute gains:
- +$200M in Türkiye
- +$72M in Saudi Arabia
- +$52M in UAE
Oman showed a distinct shift toward wellness and connectivity, with Smart Watches, Media Tablets, and Laptops outperforming all other categories.
