Indonesian food samplers. Photo credit: Dion Hinchcliffe.
Fasting month, or Ramadan, is around the corner again in the Muslim world. In Indonesia, it’s scheduled to start on June 7, culminating in the biggest Muslim holiday, Idul Fitri.
For those who celebrate, the month means following a strict fasting schedule – no food or drink from sunrise to sunset. It also means spending more time with family and often involves traveling to see relatives.
Daily life follows a different rhythm during Ramadan. This change is reflected in people’s online behavior – and who could have better data on this than Google?
Today, Google’s Indonesia office shared insights from last year’s Ramadan season.
Online, Ramadan starts early
Officially, Ramadan begins at a specific date, but interest in Ramadan-related topics rises earlier. This is the interest curve Google Indonesia observed last year:
Generally, the surge periods get longer and the spikes more intense each year, Google’s head of industry, Henky Prihatna, added.
This trend correlates with the overall growing number of Indonesians connected to the internet. The length of the surge period also increases because people are using the internet for more purposes, for example booking tickets ahead of time.
Demand for online shopping lights up
Ramadan is a a great time for ecommerce. People are in the mood to spend money and will search for essential items like train tickets and gifts to bring home.
Google observed that pretty much all shopping categories experience a seasonal surge, but the ones that grow most are clothing (up 29 percent) and travel (up 30 percent).
Need for entertainment
Everyone thinks about food
Seasonal treats
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