Visa Insights Reveal Seasonal Spending Up 80% in Pakistan during Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr
Spending patterns shifted during Ramadan and peaked around Eid Al-Fitr, with total spending up 10% during the Eid period.
Karachi – Visa, a global leader in digital payments, today released its latest consumer spending insights for the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period in Pakistan, based on the Visa Consulting & Analytics Retail Spend Monitor. During this period, spending on Visa premium consumer cards increased by 80% 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 from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Canada, Ireland, Turkey and Italy, using Visa premium consumer cards in Pakistan increased 30%.
Outbound Travel Spend During Ramadan
International travel spending from Pakistan on Visa premium consumer cards increased around 35%. Booking behavior skewed toward shorter lead times, with 70% of trips booked within one month of travel, with 65% of outbound travel spending by Pakistani travelers preferring longer getaways or more than 3 days. Spending to destinations including Saudi, UAE and UK 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 (11–17 Feb), food and grocery spending rose 25% compared to the prior week (4–10 Feb). During Ramadan, retail (10%) and food and dining (25%) together accounted for a significant proportion of in‑store spending. Spending activity also occurred later in the day, with post‑Iftar evening spending (9pm–11pm) up 30% and pre-Sehri spending (12am–4am) up 85% compared to non‑Ramadan weeks.
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Spending Peaks Around Eid Al‑Fitr
Spending peaked around Eid Al‑Fitr, with total spending up 10% 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 15% compared to the preceding days, while retail spending rose 40%.
Umar S. Khan, Country Manager for Visa in Pakistan & Afghanistan, 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.”
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.
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.”
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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.
