• Spending patterns shifted during Ramadan and peaked around Eid Al-Fitr, with total spending up 15% during the Eid period.

Cairo: Visa (NYSE: V), a global leader in payments, today released its latest consumer spending insights for the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period in Egypt, based on the Visa Consulting & Analytics Retail Spend Monitor. During this period, spending on Visa premium consumer cards increased around 50% year‑over‑year. This reflected higher spending across travel, everyday retail, and food‑related categories.

Key seasonal spending trends include:

Inbound Travel Spend During Ramadan

Spending by international visitors using Visa premium consumer cards in Egypt increased 35%, with spending from the US, UK and France  also up 35%.

Outbound Travel Spend During Ramadan

International travel spending from Egypt on Visa premium consumer cards increased around 25%. Booking behavior skewed toward shorter lead times, with 55% of trips booked within one month of travel. Spending to destinations including Saudi Arabia, France and Germany increased 55%.

Ramadan Spending Behavior

Spending behavior during Ramadan reflected both pre‑month stock‑up and in‑month in‑store activity. In the week preceding Ramadan (13–18 Feb), food and grocery spending rose around 25% compared to the prior week (7–12 Feb). During Ramadan, retail (10%) and food and dining (30%) together accounted for a significant portion of in‑store spending. Spending activity also occurred later in the day, with post‑Iftar evening spending (10 pm–12am) up 25% compared to non‑Ramadan weeks.

Spending Peaks Around Eid Al‑Fitr

Spending peaked around Eid Al‑Fitr, with total spending up 15% during the Eid period (16–19 Mar) compared to the preceding days (12–15 Mar). During Eid, spending on food and quick‑service restaurants increased 10% compared to the preceding days, while other retail and apparel spending rose 30%,

Malak El Baba, Vice President and Country Manager for Visa in Egypt, Libya, and Sudan said, “The Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period saw higher spending across travel and everyday retail categories, reflecting both inbound visitor activity and sustained local spending. These insights highlight how consumer behavior shifts during key seasonal moments and underscore the opportunity for businesses to respond with more relevant and seamless commerce experiences.”

Nicolas Khoury, SVP, Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics, CEMEA, said: “The VCA Retail Spend Monitor provides a view of how consumer spending evolves across the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period, from changes in travel patterns to shifts in everyday spending. These insights help issuers and merchants better understand seasonal behavior and design offers and experiences that remain relevant as consumer needs change.”

The VCA Retail Spend Monitor was produced by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), capturing total retail, travel, and experience-related activity during the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period (Feb 20 – Mar 20, 2026), based on a subset of VisaNet data and complemented by survey-based estimates for other payment methods.

About Visa’s Retail Spend Monitor

The Retail Spend Monitor provides insights on national retail sales across all payment types. The findings are based on a subset of aggregate retail sales activity in the Visa payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for other forms of payment. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights into consumer spending behaviors and trends, aiding retailers in strategic planning and market positioning. Premium card definition - Following cards are mapped under Premium category-VISA SIGNATURE, VISA SIGNATURE PREFERRED, VISA INFINITE, VISA INFINITE PRIVILEGE, VISA ULTRA HIGH NET WORTH.

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.

The views, opinions, and/or estimates, as the case may be (“views”), expressed herein are those of the Visa Consulting and Analytics team and do not necessarily reflect those of Visa executive management or other Visa employees and affiliates. This content is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice and do not in any way reflect actual or forecasted Visa operational or financial performance. Visa neither makes any warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the views contained herein, nor assumes any liability or responsibility that may result from reliance on such views. These views are often based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice.

Media Contact 

Eman El Gamal
eelgamal@visa.com