Asda and Morrisons lead UK supermarkets for Ramadan promotions

Photo: Ramadan 2016 promotion in an ASDA supermarket

Apart from Asda and Morrisons, UK grocers are doing relatively little for Ramadan, but more than last year when only a few items were on promotion.

As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, British supermarkets are increasingly taking steps to cater for the Muslim community. The nation’s expanding Muslim population has simply become “impossible to ignore” for bigger retailers, says Abdalhamid Evans, founder of Imarat Consultants, a halal intelligence firm.

In its last census in 2011, the National Statistics office noted that the UK population had grown by over 1 million Muslims since 2001.  Since 2011, Home Office immigration figures suggest that over 280,000 non-European immigrants enter the UK a year with the bulk coming from South Asia, which is a region with a strong Muslim heritage. 

Ray Gaul, VP Global Research and Analytics at retail and shopper specialist Kantar Retail, says: “When looking at the overall mix of Muslims to non-Muslims in the UK (5 percent compared to 95 percent) you might think that the retail opportunity is marginal but when you look at families with children and the number of children, the mix is much stronger – well over 10 percent of all UK children are Muslims.”

Gaul says that British supermarkets prefer to work with ‘families’ as opposed to ‘singles’ because of the larger baskets that this implies. He also notes that the bulk of UK supermarkets now have a large percentage of stores now characterised as ‘Muslim’ stores, run by Muslim managers who give the retailers ideas on how to grow sales, which includes better ranges and marketing for the Muslim population.

“Supermarkets that can demonstrate that they are able to tastefully cater to Muslim needs are likely to do very well, but they need to do their homework to avoid mistakes,” says Evans, referring to last year’s infamous blunder when Tesco unwittingly displayed smoky bacon Pringles in its dedicated Ramadan section.

“Supermarkets need to realise that if they don’t get it right, then someone else will. Muslim-friendly products are about to enter the mainstream. Companies can either make a lot of money from it or fall flat on their face.”

Evans predicts that Britain may see halal-only supermarkets launched within the next two years, as well as the arrival of supermarket own- label halal foods.

ASDA

For Ramadan specifically, supermarkets are increasingly paying attention to the Muslim calendar by rolling out new ranges and devoting in-store sections to Ramadan-related goods.

Asda has taken the lead by shifting its “40% Muslim” superstores over to Ramadan store layouts in April, which is earlier than in the past.  The new specialised layout focuses primarily on fresh fruits, dates, oils, and traditional cooking items. 

An Asda spokesperson says it has launched special seasonal aisles for Ramadan in 65 of its UK stores and is focused on mirroring the community’s mindset and partnering with mothers to deliver “authentic quality ingredients at unbeatable prices”.

The spokesperson adds: “For Ramadan we are running promotions and offers on a large variety of products from May to July and will continue to add new products and lines every year to meet our customer's evolving needs.”

Over the years Asda has actively created in-roads into Muslim communities by spreading awareness through various media like ethnic press, radio, TV and digital. The store has also engaged with its Muslim customers through its mosque outreach programme and is running “Feed The Poor” “charity initiatives in London and Birmingham throughout June.

MORRISONS

Morrisons is similarly targeting the Muslim demographic throughout Ramadan, says Noor Ali, Category Manager World Foods & Free From. “In stores where there are large Muslim populations we make a real feature of our offer for the month of Ramadan and the festival of Eid; this means extra space in store for festive foods, extra point of sale material and a full package of marketing to communicate our offer to our Muslim communities.  We can only do this if we understand the demographics of the local store and we work very hard at this.”

Aside from Asda and Morrisons, Gaul says grocers are expected to do relatively little “but more than last year where a few items were on promotion.” He also predicts that there will be more ‘promotional congestion’ this year because of Ramadan’s earlier dates between 7 June and 5 July.

“The congestion falls in line with barbecue themes and other activities where retailers are rolling out ‘summer’ type promotions. This has meant that the retailers have needed to be more targeted in use of indoor space but also in terms of advertising space.”

Gaul suggests that there is considerable room for industry growth in the areas of Ramadan food and gifting.

“Branded product companies and retailers in countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia have successfully created new “opportunities” related to Ramadan in terms of greeting cards, gifts and buying something special for the home as a family celebration. This has resulted in cross selling during Ramadan, particularly using loyalty points, gift cards, and other promotional rewards.  There is a lot of room for expansion in the sector, ” said Gaul.

© SalaamGateway.com 2016