While consumption in many European countries and the United States is reaching saturation, companies are turning to untapped global economies to fuel growth and expand their market reach. In the search for the next big market ready for a retail boom, on similar lines of China and India, brands have myopically overlooked a global opportunity that’s just as big: the Muslims. The positive socio-economic and political developments supported with the connectivity of the internet have galvanised a newly emergent Muslim consumer demographics creating significant yet complex opportunities for international brands to tap.
According to industry experts, Muslim consumers are predicted to account for 30 per cent of the world’s population by 2025, a clear indication that this consumer market can no longer be ignored by international retailers, though the approach has to be very cautious. Whether brands are pushing traditional Islamic offerings or hoping to make a product appeal to someone with Muslim values, it is unanimously agreed that this group needs careful consideration and research before any brand can even think of servicing this huge upwardly mobile consumer group. In fact, the spending of this consumer base could help nations repair some of the damages of the recent recession. “The Muslim consumer can be among the most loyal in the world. When they discover something that’s right for them, they feel it’s their duty to pass on the word – for young connected Muslims today, this is done at the click of a mouse,” informs Mohamed El-Fatatry, Founder of Muxlim, an integrated marketing agency, specifically looking at behavioural patterns of the Muslim community.
With Muslim-majority countries spread from Southeast Asia to Africa, and Muslims speaking numerous languages and adhering to varying standards of dress and other customs, approaching the group as consumers can be complex. But as with all marketing exercises, experts say, rule No.1 is to avoid causing offense. A case in point is Nike which committed an error when it released a pair of athletic shoes in 1996 with a logo on the sole that some Muslims believed resembled the Arabic letter for Allah. “Given that Muslims consider the feet unclean, producing shoes with the name of God on the soles of the feet is not a good idea. They had to recall 8,00,000 pair of shoes globally,” recollects John Goodman, Regional Director for South and South East Asia, Ogilvy & Mather, who himself converted to Islam in 1999. Describing the Nike episode as a ‘wake-up call’ for companies, Goodman believes this has been a turning point for Muslim advocates, who realized that if they made their voice heard, companies would listen and change, giving them economic and social influence.[bleft]Muslims, a global population of 1.8 billion and for whom faith shapes their consumption choices, primarily hold an estimated market share of US $ 2.1 trillion.
[/bleft]While some mainstream brands have been adjusting their offers and marketing to reflect the needs of the Muslim community, but with an audience worth trillions of pounds, it seems well worth that companies search for the right ways in marketing to these consumers. In order to do so, American multinational retailer, Walmart had setup a supercentre in Dearborn in Michigan, which is primarily an area with one of the largest Muslim and Arab population in the country. Justifying the move, Walmart spokesman Bill Wertz said, “The merchandise in each store can vary according to the needs of the surrounding community.” With a global population of 1.8 billion people and for whom faith shapes their consumption choices, Muslims primarily hold an estimated market share of US $ 2.1 trillion. And amongst this consumer group the main thrust would be provided by the ‘Futurists’, who are predominantly young, tech-savvy Muslims who take pride not only in their faith, but also embrace modernity, marketing and most of all brands.
[bleft]Muslim consumers : Fact File
- Most Muslims feel ignored by mainstream brands, according to a research carried out by agency JWT.
- According to Ogilvy Noor, an Islamic branding practice that’s part of global marketing and public relations giant Ogilvy & Mather, there are 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide out of which 800 million are under 25, i.e. approximately 11 per cent of the global population.
- Rising employment amongst Muslim women is also driving change.
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Indeed, understanding the intricate consumer behaviour pattern is critical for any brand that is thinking of targeting the Muslim consumers and some brands have taken the lead, seeing success in doing so. Amongst them is Tesco, UK’s largest retailer, which has more than 6,000 stores out of which 315 carry the Ramadan Promotion campaign. Its strategy for the holy month is clearly working with an estimated sales increase of £ 30 million. The growing Muslim consumer base is being targeted by British supermarkets and strategies such as the Ramadan promotion provide part of that pull. The UK is home to 2.8 million Muslims, which consists of 5 per cent of the total population. While their average demographic is rising, Muslims are young, with almost half of them under 25. In-store promotions and community TV advertising may appeal to the broad base of Muslim shoppers, but Tesco knows it is this younger tech-savvy segment that it needs to target in particular.
The wave of Muslim consumerism is flourishing, with US department store Best Buy launching the “Happy Eid” campaign, which drew mixed reactions from its consumers. “Sales went up that month, but it also received criticism from customers of other ethnic/religious groups, who said Best Buy doesn’t run ‘Happy Chanukah’ or ‘Happy Christmas’ campaigns, so why Happy Eid,” explains Mohamed. After this campaign, Best Buy Inc. was inundated with calls, e-mails and letters complaining that the company was anti-American after acknowledging a Muslim holiday – “Eid al-Adha” or the Feast of the Sacrifice for the first time in a national advertisement. Though criticized for their advert, Best Buy executives, nonetheless, stood by their decision. The company saw the holiday greeting as part of a larger goal of reaching consumers from different cultures. Soon, Muslims started alling to thank Best Buy and later setup a Facebook page honouring the company, which continues to acknowledge Muslim holidays till date.
For decades, many Western companies have failed to appreciate the unique needs of Muslim consumers. Worse, some of them offended potential customers by not understanding religious sensitivities. But as the Islamic population has grown in size and affluence, brands are awakening to their importance and are seeking to tap into this unexplored market. “For the last few years, it’s been China and India but the next big market is the Muslims. There’s this huge group of people who have been relatively untapped in terms of what they want and need, and they represent a tremendous opportunity,” concludes Paul Temporal, an Associate Fellow of Said Business School at the University of Oxford.
