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Just before sunset, dining rooms across the UAE become the main event. In apartments and villas, in majlis rooms and high-rise dining areas, plates are laid out long before the call to prayer. Dates are stacked neatly. Soup is steaming. Rice is piled high, jewelled with nuts and raisins. Trays of grilled meats are brushed with a glaze. Breads are still warm. All day, the country’s practising Muslims, who make up at least 80 per cent of the population, have been fasting. While Ramadan is meant to be about restraint, when sundown comes, it’s also one of the busiest months for wallets, and businesses have learned to pay attention.

Last year, Redseer research estimated that shoppers in the UAE were projected to spend around $10 billion in retail during Ramadan, up 9 per cent year over year. The grocery and beauty categories are seeing some of the sharpest upticks during the Holy Month, with spending in both categories climbing by more than 20 per cent. The jump isn’t random. Stocked-up kitchens for both suhoor and iftar meals are part of the ritual, but so are fresh skincare buys, new fragrances, and last-minute gift sets in the run-up to Eid.

Every year, consumers are willing to spend more and more each Ramadan period. That confidence is mirrored in the broader economic picture, too. The IMF has now bumped its 2026 GDP growth forecast for the UAE up to 5 per cent, a signal that the country’s economic momentum isn’t slowing down. When people feel like the wider economy is steady, they loosen up a little. They’re willing to upgrade iftar spreads, buy better gifts, or click “checkout” on Eid outfits.

Food bills alone can jump between 50-100 per cent during the month, and 83 per cent of families change their food consumption habits, according to industry research by HLB. During Ramadan, households pour a disproportionate chunk of their annual food budget into just four weeks. HLB estimates that the month alone makes up about 15 per cent of total yearly food expenditure — a sizeable share for a short stretch of time.

Certain staples see a sharp spike once Ramadan begins. Bread consumption climbs by around 63 per cent, chicken by 66.5 per cent, and dried fruits by 25 per cent compared to the rest of the year, which is a clear sign that the Holy Month reshapes not just how much people eat, but what ends up on the table.

While elaborate iftar spreads will remain a hallmark of home life during Ramadan, most people in the UAE lean toward eating meals prepared at home rather than eating out. According to the Ipsos ‘2026 Ramadan Handbook UAE Edition’, a significant majority of respondents surveyed say they favour home‑cooked meals over dining out during the holy month. To be exact, 47 per cent of respondents surveyed say they order food delivery less often during Ramadan, while only 28 per cent say they order in more often.

Ipsos data shows 68 per cent of people make a conscious effort to repurpose leftovers to avoid waste. More than half say financial planning becomes a priority, and more than half of those surveyed save in advance to prepare for higher expenses. In other words, Ramadan spending is deliberate.

Gadzhibala Pirmagomedov, a product manager at Syrve, a Middle East-based platform that helps restaurants manage orders, payments, staffing, and customer trends in real time, explains how Ramadan reshapes restaurant demand: “Overall order volume drops 26-39 per cent. However, evening hours (17-23) surge 30-40 per cent above normal levels. Revenue concentrates into a narrow post-iftar window.”

Gadzhibala Pirmagomedov

Restaurants see fewer transactions overall, especially in quick-service spots, Pirmagomedov explains. And it’s not like the average bill shoots up to make up for it. After 7 pm, checks drop about 15 per cent, showing that diners are opting for quicker, smaller orders in that post-iftar rush. Full-service restaurants are harder to parse, but the pattern is clear: Ramadan squeezes restaurant activity into a short, intense evening window.

When it comes to where people are spending, the picture is mixed. Pirmagomedov says diners in the early evening often trade up, going for group iftars at fancier spots that offer set menus. Later at night, it flips — people trade down, grabbing quick bites, coffees, or desserts.

Premium restaurants see steady demand and stable checks, but quick-service spots are all about volume. Ramadan doesn’t just concentrate orders into a short window; it also creates this striking split in how and where people choose to spend.

Robert Kochiniyan, chief business development officer at FORTIS Digital Solutions, a UAE-based retail tech company that helps restaurants manage operations, says it’s important to know how and when people spend. “Ramadan isn’t just about more sales; it’s about compressed demand, larger baskets, and mobile-first consumption,” he explains. “Coffee shops, in particular, see a second spike after 8 pm, as tea and coffee sales accelerate,” he adds, showing how the day’s spending stretches well into the night.

Robert Kochiniyan

Average bills rise around 20 per cent, driven by iftar combos, sharing platters, and group gatherings, even if foot traffic doesn’t increase. “It’s not necessarily more frequent visits, but higher per-visit spend,” Kochiniyan notes. Convenience also shapes behaviour: “Drive-through and takeaway volumes increase considerably, and card payments outweigh cash compared to a typical month.” Pop-ups and food trucks add another layer, with merchants using temporary setups to capture evening demand year after year.

Premium restaurants lean into curated iftar buffets, he says, “to drive volume and maximise table turnover”, highlighting how Ramadan has become a high-intensity, high-mobility period where timing, format, and spending all reshape the F&B landscape.

Saad Masri, research director at Ipsos, says business leaders need to capitalise on the fact that Ramadan spending isn’t limited to food alone. “Food is high on the list, but people are spending across categories,” he explains, noting that fashion, electronics, and Eid gifting also see meaningful lifts, often boosted by promotions and discounts throughout the Holy Month.

Tamara, the app offering ‘buy now, pay later’ options to shoppers, affirms this. In a report, there was a seasonal surge in their order volumes, which shot up to 60 per cent in Saudi Arabia and the UAE during the first week of Ramadan last year. In Saudi Arabia alone, spending spiked by 34.7 per cent in the week leading up to Ramadan in 2025, hitting $4.6 billion. In the weeks leading up to Eid, some experts project that residents spend around Dh2,500 per person on gifts alone.

“Ramadan is a period with extremely heavy advertising and marketing activity. Consumption of content online and offline is highest during this period, and as such, brands utilise the month to reach out to consumers,” Masri says.

Visa’s report on ‘The bustling Ramadan night-time economy’ highlights that once the sun sets, streets and screens come alive. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Visa reports that the share of transactions between 10 pm and 4 am more than double. In the UAE, this figure climbed nearly 11 percentage points. Dine-in restaurants, delivery apps, supermarkets, and quick-service spots all saw the biggest jumps. Most of the spending actually happens between 11 pm and 3 am.

Masri notes that there’s a clear distinction between online and offline shopping, and patterns differ by category. Groceries, often daily top-ups or essentials, drive online purchases, with promotions guiding behaviour across digital channels. Fashion, electronics, and gifts still pull shoppers into stores and malls, where in-person browsing blends with online deal-hunting. Data from Tamara’s Ramadan 2026 Playbook makes it clear: 61 per cent of consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are shopping straight from Instagram and TikTok during Ramadan.

Restaurants that rethink menus, staffing, and hours around the iftar-to-suhoor window can beat their usual evening revenue. “Many merchants set up temporary operations to catch evening demand, and we see them coming back year after year,” adds Kochiniyan. “Ramadan has turned into a high-mobility retail window for F&B operators.”

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