The Ramadan economy: How UAE consumers are spending in 2026

Ramadan is a time of self-reflection, generosity, community and family, but it is also a period of intense consumer spending. Even as people fast from morning until dusk, spending rises across food and retail. In 2026, how people spend is shifting, with more people staying home, ordering in, and buying not only products but experiences too. Yet a recent survey suggests UAE consumers still expect to spend more this Ramadan. Redseer Strategy Consultants estimates the UAE Ramadan economy will grow from about $15 billion in 2025 to $16.4 billion this year. In this episode of Business Extra, host Salim Essaid is joined by Sandeep Ganediwalla, managing partner at Redseer, to unpack what is changing in consumer behaviour a week into the holy month. They discuss why excitement to spend is higher this year, how the winter weather is shifting people towards more outings and experiences, what Gen Y is doing differently with planned purchases, and why pre-Ramadan stock-ups are declining as delivery and loyalty programmes reshape habits.

You can listen to The Ramadan economy: How UAE consumers are spending in 2026 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Ramadan economy: How UAE consumers are spending in 2026 is an episode from Business Extra by The National News.

This episode is 24:13 long.

This episode was published on Feb 25, 2026.

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