PETALING JAYA, 4 March 2024 – GrabAds, the advertising arm of Grab, has released its latest Ramadan-Raya Insights 2023/2024 report, highlighting the surge in customer spending patterns during Ramadan. The report reveals that a significant 84% of respondents expressed plans to increase their spending during Ramadan, particularly on food and beverage, fashion and apparel, and personal healthcare.

The GrabAds Ramadan report also offers valuable insights into Malaysian consumers’ shopping plans during Ramadan, empowering local businesses and micro-entrepreneurs to effectively reach and engage customers during this festive season.

“As Ramadan approaches, we anticipate a surge in celebration and consumer activity, especially among families in Malaysia. This presents an opportunity for brands to connect meaningfully online with the right audiences. By planning early Ramadan campaigns that leverage data insights and tailored strategies, brands can enrich their customers’ celebrations with engaging communication that serves personalised experiences. This approach not only captures attention but also builds lasting connections with both existing and new audiences,” said Hassan Alsagoff, Head of Marketing, Grab Malaysia.

Some key findings and recommendations relevant for brands from the report include:

1. Capitalise on Ramadan’s digital surge. 76% of Malaysians anticipate amping up their digital activities during the festive season, with 62% planning to rely heavily on Grab services like food deliveries and payments.

2. Cater to family gatherings with group menus and parcel packages. With 84% of respondents favouring breaking their fast with loved ones and 94% willing to spend more on high-quality products for their families and homes, merchants can consider offering tailor-made for family gatherings with flexible group menus offering add-ons like drinks and desserts.

3. Leveraging the increase in Grab-Ride usage for early Ramadan campaigns. 85% of surveyed users, including car owners, prefer Grab’s convenience during festive periods, leading to a 9% surge in weekly ridership compared to pre-Ramadan. This trend peaks further in the weeks leading up to Hari Raya, with airport trips steadily increasing from week three onwards. Furthermore, families often reunite in their hometowns so the roads usually get busy. Recognising these behavioural patterns, brands have a golden window to engage early adopters. By launching strategic in-car or car-wrap campaigns 1 to 3 months before Ramadan, they can leverage this captive audience, raise brand awareness, and capture a loyal customer base before the festive fever takes full swing.

GrabAds empowers brands and marketers, including small and medium-sized merchants, to run impactful campaigns through its superapp ecosystem. We offer a self-serve ad service, an ad creation tool that empowers merchant partners to build their own ad image banners and search ads and track ad performance in real-time.

“We’re committed to helping our merchant partners, especially MSMEs, plan their Ramadan campaigns effectively. We encourage them to leverage the insights we share in the report so they can foster brand loyalty, drive sales, and establish a strong presence in the hearts and minds of consumers,” concluded Hassan.

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