Britain Experiences ’Ramadan Rush’

Gift buying around the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has typically been a high profit-yielding time of year for British retailers, and now the season is second only to Christmas in revenue, according to The Wall Street Journal. Once beneficial to mainly high-end retailers, mass merchant brands like Primark, H&M and Marks & Spencer are now experiencing a rise in sales around the holiday.

According to WSJ and Global Blue, a Swiss-based shopping tourism company, Middle Eastern tourists spend between four and seven times more than the average domestic U.K. shopper spends during a visit to Britain, which is increasing yearly.

Westfield Corp.’s mall in East London provides prayer rooms for Muslim shoppers and features Arabic-speaking concierges. It also extended its opening hours for the holiday, while other luxury retailers like Harrods in Knightsbridge provide an Arabic-speaking staff and cultural training for the majority of its employees.

Analysts aren’t sure why lower-end retailers are beginning to benefit more from this holiday as they have in the past, the WSJ reports, however, the thought is that tourists are going to chains like Marks & Spencer for casual housewares goods or to buy bulk items for their household staffs.

In June, Qatari tourists in the U.K. spent $2433 on average, up 7 percent from the year prior, while U.A.E. tourism spending is up 19 percent and Bahraini spending up 26 percent, according to the WSJ.