Ramadan treats: Industry-specific tips to win over Indonesian consumers

Ramadan in 2020 will be unlike any other. The holy month arrives at a time when COVID-19 has shifted the world’s axis. People are forced to adjust to new ways of coping with life at blinding pace. On one hand, the pandemic spells doom. On the other, there are still ways brands can thrive this Ramadan. A study titled ‘An unfamiliar prayer’ by M&C Saatchi Indonesia analysed 10 key behavioural traits of Ramadan. These include change in media and work habits, the act of gifting, ‘ngabuburit’, tarawih prayers and zakat fitrah, as well as mudik which has now been banned in Indonesia.

With mudik banned by the Indonesian government this Ramadan, the report predicts virtual mudik which will lead to a massive traffic of virtual calls. In addition, as the government has moved the official mudik holidays to December, mudik will happen on an even larger scale towards the end of the year. At the same time, it is common for Indonesians to carry gifts when visiting. Due to the banned mudik during Ramadan, the report suggests that eCommerce platforms and brands can make use of this opportunity to make gifting offers available.

Ngabuburit is the activity that Indonesians enjoy doing during Ramadan. Usually, this includes shopping for takjil (sweetmeats) while waiting for the time to break fast. Street food vendors lineup to sell all kinds of local food and beverages during this period. Due to the stay-home restrictions, this year Ramadan will see the trend of webinars and e-learning programs taking up Indonesians’ free times. The waiting time will also be made fun by mobile gaming platforms offering many free grams, including premium games made free to play.

In addition, the report also stated that traditional TV viewership will go up by 53% as people are forced to remain home during Ramadan. According to the report, people turn on the TV and leave it on in the background while going about their chores. As such, brands should focus on the audio aspects of the TV commercials, such as music, jingles, voice overs, key message, call to action and also the brand name to register in people’s minds.

Take a look at some of the findings below:

FMCG

The habit of buying in sachets and smaller quantities is now changing to stocking up in bulk as going out is restricted. Many urban Indonesians usually do not cook at home at all, but now there is an increase in Indonesians acquiring new cooking skills. In the FMCG sector, online recipes and how-to-cook videos will be in popular demand, and should be part of brands’ content strategies.

As such, brands should enable people to discover new skills during lockdown, give people ideas to innovate usage of existing products, while brands can also answer the trend of stockpiling with larger stock keeping unit (SKU) as more move to wholesale shopping.

Retail

Less traffic on offline stores has created negative cash flow for retailers. Close to half of the respondents do expect some downside revenue implications, while 33% feel that it is however too early to comment on COVID-19 effects on retailers.

Retailers have no option but to provide their products online, and can now deploy omnichannel approaches to reach consumers.

Retailers should offer personalised shopping experiences using data-driven marketing, create new communication messages focused on the wellbeing and wellness of the customers by being transparent about health and hygiene of sales stuff. The report added that virtual reality shopping experiences are a possible option over the longer term.

Ecommerce

Daily online traffic has jumped more than 50% globally, and eCommerce has now become essential for Asia Pacific consumers when they move to online platforms. The report cited a Criteo study that people shop based on priorities and not so much on impulse. Ecommerce is expected to harvest a y-o-y growth of 15-20% during this pandemic-stricken Ramadan. Brands can create flash sales during Ramadan prime time, which includes iftar and sahoor, for both essentials and lifestyle products.

Collaboration with NGOs to grab essence of Ramadan amidst the pandemic is also ideal for brands.

These brands could provide donation packs, promos, gifts or buy-one-give-one offers, and touch consumers emotionally.

Travel

The travel industry has almost come to a standstill. The Indonesian government has moved the public holidays of Ramadan from May 2020 to December 2020. Instead of riding one big wave in Ramadan, there is going to be two travel waves.

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As such, brands should make open tickets or travel coupons available, which can be encashed as soon as the travel ban is lifted.

This generates revenue for travel companies during the pandemic, and also protects travellers from irrational price surges. In addition, brands should create engaging content with quizzes and games combined with promotions and discounts for travelling after the pandemic.

Telco

Togetherness is the key essence of Ramadan, and the togetherness will be manifested virtually this year. People will be accessing digital connections through social media, meeting app and instant messaging more than ever to stay and feel connected. Telco brands should encourage Indonesians a different way of sharing, such as sharing internet quota and talktime minutes, and could also offer special bundled packages.

Consumer electronics

Ramadan is usually the period where consumer electronics sales go up by 24%, with people upgrading their gadgets. However, the new habit of stocking up ingredients and cooking at home as part of a family activity has influenced the sales of refrigerators and cooking appliances.

What brands can tap on would be the demand for budget laptops due to children needing to do online classes from home, and more people working from home. Brands should consider offering Ramadan promos for electronic devices such as laptops, tablets bundled with free WFH data plans or software and applications.

Fintech

According to the report, the fintech and finance category might experience higher demand of up to 8% increase in quick online loans for emergency funds during Ramadan and Eid, specifically for those who lost earnings from their jobs/business and deprived of THR. Slow and bad credit collection will also however, rise due to business crisis and lay-off trends.

Hence, fintech startup brands can build awareness and credibility along with empathy by providing a special Ramadan plan of loans with lower interest rates, special payback terms and credit relaxation features.

Fashion and beauty

Normally, women wear makeup when they head out. However, now that meetings are taken virtual, makeup have also started indoors. Brands could shift in-store consultation with beauty advisors to online sessions consisting virtual consultation. Brands could even use KOLs, and offer a DIY home-pampering pack with a step-by-step guide during Ramadan amidst lockdown.

While we ride this wave together, stay productive and join us for our newly launched webinar series covering a wide range of topics on business resilience.

Anish Daryani, founder and president director of M&C Saatchi, Indonesia said Ramadan in 2020 will be like never before, as a dark shadow of an ensuing pandemic engulfs the festivities, and people struggle to adapt to a new way of life at blinding pace.

“The rituals of Ramadan, which haven’t changed for centuries, are now being challenged. This leads to consumers behaving in unfamiliar ways, decisions being made based on previously unknown parameters. Businesses are at a loss of understanding these changes, leave alone coping with them,” he explained, adding that the Unfamiliar Prayer study throws light on 10 behavioural insights and strategies for 10 categories, to help brands win in Ramadan 2020, despite the pandemic.