UAE Shoppers Expected to Plan Ramadan 2027 Earlier and Buy More Online, Worldpanel Says

The forecast is based on how shoppers behaved during Ramadan 2026, when regional conflict pushed more family meals and hospitality into the home and online grocery shopping grew. Worldpanel said Ramadan 2027 will fall even closer to winter and that regional volatility looks set to continue, so brands and retailers will need to plan earlier.

Online sales are the main shift. E-commerce accounted for 8.7 per cent of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) volume in the Ramadan 2026 quarter, with more households buying online and buying more often. Baskets were smaller, with more trips and fewer items per order. Supermarkets and other modern retail still dominated, with 71.5 per cent of volume. The report advises brands to treat e-commerce as the "pre-season shelf", because shoppers settle what goes in their basket online before they reach a store.

UAE FMCG spending rose 5.3 per cent year on year during the quarter and volumes grew 3.5 per cent. Dairy led, with spending up 7.5 per cent, followed by home care at 7.2 per cent. Growth was narrower than usual: 53 per cent of categories increased volume, against 64 per cent over the 12 months to March 2026. Personal care spending fell 2.8 per cent and beverage volumes slipped 1.1 per cent.

Worldpanel attributes the move towards eating and entertaining at home to the regional conflict, which changed some social habits, and to hybrid and remote working. "Consumers are becoming more intentional, planning ahead and protecting the occasions that matter most to them," said Idriss El Ganari, Worldpanel's managing director for Africa and the Middle East.

The report found different patterns elsewhere in the region. Saudi households stocked up early, with February FMCG spending at an index of 117 against a typical month. In Egypt, Ramadan spending rose 30 per cent compared with other periods. In Morocco, the usual pre-Ramadan stock-up did not happen.