The shopping boom during the month of Ramadan has cosmetics brands in Asia looking to make money. Exanti, a beauty consultant for Indonesian cosmetics brand Wardah, wears makeup on a daily basis, including eyeshadow, eyeliner, foundation, blusher and lipstick. Exanti is getting ready to change her look for the end of the month of Ramadan. In Indonesia, the holiday of Eid al-Fitr is a time for family gatherings and we always take a group photo together. I want my face to be clean and natural.
With firms paying out their year-end bonuses, Exanti has noticed an increase in customers and is looking to refresh her look for the holidays. According to Compas, skincare and makeup sales rose 20% last year during the holy month. The total sales value of fast moving consumer goods, which include cosmetics as well as packaged food and toiletries, reached 58.6 trillion rupiah ($ 3.6m) in the year ending in June, up 1.03 percent from the previous year. According to a report by advertising company Criteo, retail sales across Southeast Asia increased by 47 percent in the first two weeks of Ramadan last year, with Malaysia experiencing the highest individual increase of 40 percent. Food and beverage sales increased by 23 percent, followed by health and beauty products at 16 percent. During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the sales of beauty products spike and it is an opportunity for retailers to try different sales strategies. Singh said that given the varied economic landscape in Southeast Asia, it is necessary for marketers to change their strategies to reach their audience. Many Indonesian companies have turned to online sales in order to bolster their earnings. Body Shop Indonesia and Wardah are two beauty brands that sell their wares through online platforms such as Shopee and the video app TikTok. Both brands have promotions for shoppers during the holiday season, with titles such as "Ramadan sales" and "Eid-mazing offers". Wardah is running a campaign during the month of Ramadan called Continue Your Good Steps. Novia Sukmawaty, the head of the brand's beauty group, said in a statement last month that the time of the holy month of Ramadan is a time when Muslims can increase feelings of gratitude and worship. Wardah has partnerships with brand ambassadors to give talks online that tie into its sales campaign. Wardah carries out campaigns during the holy month of Ramadan to help women in Indonesia, and to help those around them. In Medan, a salesperson at a branch of Body Shop Indonesia said that it is important to look pretty for the holiday celebrations. Body Shop Indonesia customers start getting ready in the weeks before the holiday by buying skin care products to prepare their skin for the holiday. The closer it gets to the holiday, they start buying makeup.
During the holiday period, people often attend parties or family gatherings, so they need their makeup to stay power. A spike in sales of products that do that like foundation, face powder, eyebrow gel and setting spray can be seen.