This month, the holy month of Ramadan will finally begin: a month filled with prayer, contemplation, and charitable work. Muslims all around the world fast during the day to learn how to be patient and grateful for every blessing.

Ramadan is a month of joy for individuals – but what about businesses?

Impact Of Ramadan On Business

It is no surprise that businesses are inadvertently affected by this holy time of the year, especially those in Muslim-majority countries. Since entire workforces have to fast during the day, and worship during the night, they’re often left more tired than usual. Getting up early for Sehri and staying up late after Iftar for religious duties leads to people getting less sleeping hours. This decreases overall productivity.

Furthermore, business executives often push important dates like meetings, partnerships or brand deals at an abrupt halt throughout the month. And if any other meetings are held, they might not be that productive, either because of lethargic staffing or inconsistent timings i.e. only after Iftar. This may cause the entire business to slow down to a snail’s pace in the race to success.

It might sound as if all businesses become dormant during Ramadan – but that is not the case.

The Bright Side

Quite paradoxically, some businesses tend to see a rise in their sales during the holy month of Ramadan. Retail stores like grocery shops find that more people buy from them, so that they can be prepared for Sehri and Iftar meals. Even telecommunications companies have found ways to keep productivity high by promoting things like Islamic caller tunes or Azaan services via cellphone. Although restaurants and cafes might not see activity during the hours of the day, they will find their seats jam-packed during Sehri and Iftar times.

Of course, the restaurant industry hasn’t resorted to just these methods of generating benefits. In fact, they have successfully found more unique way of gaining attraction even during a time where eating and drinking is prohibited for the most parts of the day.

One such unique way is the use of special discounts on courses or deals. Setting it as limited time offers – that’s only available during the time of Ramadan – causes many people to flock to grab meals at low prices. Other kinds of promotions include creating “packages” where restaurants promote entire feasts at a low cumulative price. Such promotional ideas can even be applied to Loyalty Programs, where loyal customers get to enjoy custom Ramadan offers, discounts, or even a free item off of the menu!

While it’s easy for big businesses to apply all of that, smaller restaurants often get the shorter end of the stick. Owners of such businesses will find it helpful to invest in a POS system capable of creating and applying discounts seamlessly. One such POS software in Pakistan is Oscar, which allows you to create discounts on meals seamlessly. Not only that, it also syncs in with transactions, so that the discounted value can be easily calculated in the grand total. It makes everything simple and efficient.

As is the case for every kind of business, success is there only for those who are ready to take it.