Don’t let the 15 hours between meals fool you, because we ironically tend to eat more in that short space of time and spending rises accordingly. Which means our household budgets become more geared towards paying for groceries and services, says Enterpreneur Middle East. Fintech company PayFort and on-demand grocery startups InstaShop and Todoorstep found that consumers expect their food and service expenditures to grow 50% during Ramadan, and groceries alone account for around 22% of each household’s budget, on average. A number of products see a significant jump in demand, particularly dates (73%) dairy products such as milk (62%) and yogurt (61%), and beverages (53%). “While consumers are largely accepting of the increased food prices during the season, retailers should know that promos like ‘Buy One Get One,’ price discounts, and cashbacks are all big hits with consumers in the month of Ramadan.”

E-commerce also gets a piece of the Ramadan pie: Online retail sales tend to see a jump during Ramadan, particularly the last week of the holy month directly before Eid Al Fitr, according to the Arabian Marketer. Due to the traditional gifting during Eid al-Fitr 61% of survey respondents in KSA and 58% in UAE planning to buy gifts for others during Ramadan. Retail sales then cool off once again during and after Eid. Online travel bookings continue on an upwards trajectory, particularly as consumers look to vacation during the summer months after Ramadan.