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Research suggests that mobile app usage surges during Ramadan. Last year, Ramadan sparked a 45% year-on-year increase in organic downloads of shopping apps in the country, and spending in these apps more than doubled (a 104% year-on-year increase over the previous Ramadan). Finance is another area that sees similar success, likely due to Ramadan being a time for gift giving and charitable donations. Spending within these apps grew an incredible 357% during Ramadan 2021 compared to 2020. Against this backdrop, Samer Saad, regional manager for the Middle East at AppsFlyer, shares three tips that marketers can leverage to generate authentic mobile engagement that lasts throughout Ramadan and beyond.
With less than a month to go until Ramadan, Muslims around the world are preparing for a month of fasting, reflection, and connecting with family and friends. It’s also become an increasingly mobile and digital time in the UAE, due to a smartphone penetration rate above 95%, a growing digital native population, and the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, mobile app usage tends to surge during the Holy Month.
Last year, Ramadan sparked a 45% year-on-year increase in organic downloads of shopping apps in the country, and spending in these apps more than doubled (a 104% year-on-year increase over the previous Ramadan).
It’s not just eCommerce that sees strong growth. Finance is another area that sees similar success, likely due to Ramadan being a time for gift giving and charitable donations. Spending within these apps grew an incredible 357% during Ramadan 2021 compared to 2020.
Starting marketing activities early, and running remarketing campaigns are all standard tactics for marketers, but how else can they generate authentic engagement that lasts throughout Ramadan and beyond?
Adopt the values of Ramadan
Ramadan is meant to be a month of charity, connection and growing as a person. So as a marketer, it’s important to think about how your brand can both live and promote these behaviors throughout the Holy Month and beyond.
Last year, Pizza2Go, a local pizza restaurant in Dubai launched a ¾ Pizza Box in collaboration with Red Crescent and MullenLowe MENA, in order to raise awareness of food waste during Ramadan.
It’s estimated that 25% of all food is wasted over the Holy Month, so by removing a quarter of the pizza, they were eliminating the quarter that would have eventually been wasted. In addition, 25% of the cost of the pizza was donated to Red Crescent to help those in need. So not only did this campaign tackle a problem, but it also had a charitable component, and completely aligns with what Ramadan is meant to be about.
As with any marketing campaign however, authenticity is key. If, as a company, you don’t live by the values you’re promoting throughout Ramadan, people are likely to see through any veiled attempt at goodwill.
Be smart about your budget
Ramadan is one of the biggest moments in the year for marketers across the Middle East, and while it can be tempting to spend significant time and money on a huge campaign to make the most of increased consumer demand, it’s important that any spend is justified and measured.
For example, consider the KPIs you’re measuring your campaign against, and make sure these aligns with your overarching business goals. What are you trying to achieve? Downloads of your app? Sales of a particular product line? Subscriptions after a free trial? These are all important things to consider before running your campaigns.
Deep linking is also a great way of ensuring a seamless experience across channels. For example, let’s say you want to increase sales of trainers by running an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok. By giving influencers a dedicated link that takes the audience directly to a specific product page, you’ll be able to measure how successful the influencer is, generate more conversions, and deliver a higher quality customer experience overall.
While eCommerce brands are likely to see huge demand during this time, not all verticals experience the same growth throughout Ramadan. For example, companies operating in other spaces such as business or productivity are likely to see less demand. For these companies, spending significant budget in an already highly competitive landscape where ad space is at a premium just because it’s Ramadan is probably not the way forward.
Make sure you’re mobile ready
With Ramadan becoming increasingly digital and mobile first, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, brands need to make sure they’re not just advertising on mobile, but also able to offer a strong app experience. After all, you don’t just want the user to download your app and then abandon it. You want to maintain their attention and loyalty.
In order to do this, the UX of your mobile app must constantly prove its value by creating contextual experiences, using gamification techniques, or simply making the users’ life easier.
Even something as simple as providing a real-time progress bar as part of the sign-up process can make the difference between a user converting or abandoning the process.
Ramadan, like any seasonal demand surge in consumer activity, is an ideal moment to optimise the revenue-generating potential in mobile apps. After all, it’s clear that that’s increasingly where users are spending their time. However, it’s also a competitive period, where everyone is vying for eyeballs, so ensuring that you’re running authentic, engaging campaigns, and are able to deliver a strong user experience will be key to success.
