UAE Retailers Spending Big On Mobile Marketing In Run-up To White/Yellow Friday

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Lead up to White/Yellow Friday, taking place in the last week of November, marks the most crucial time of the year for eCommerce mobile marketers in the country

With ecommerce in the UAE forecast to generate $8 billion in sales by 2025 and UAE consumers shopping more via mobile apps, retailers are justifiably doubling down on mobile marketing campaigns. According to new data from AppsFlyer, which showed that between July 2021 and June 2022, UAE organisations spent over 26.08 million on mobile marketing. Of this, the majority (58 per cent) was targeted at Android users, with the remaining focused on iOS devices. 

AppsFlyer’s analysis also revealed some interesting seasonal fluctuations in the spend allocation. Most notably, overall app install ad spend peaked in October 2021, as marketers tried to acquire users ahead of the November White/Yellow Friday sales period. This was followed by a sharp decline of 87 per cent in ad spend until March 2022. 

The good news for retailers is that these marketing efforts seem to be translating into increased app revenues. The AppsFlyer data indicated that in the lead-up to White/Yellow Friday last year — between September to November 2021 — spending in shopping apps grew 61 per cent on Android and 88 per cent on iOS. Unsurprisingly, this spend peaked in the week leading up to White/Yellow Friday, growing 62 per cent on Android and more than doubling (123 per cent) on iOS.

The importance of the White/Yellow Friday sales period to the UAE’s ecommerce retailers is evidenced in the fact that spending during the period largely outstripped that during the subsequent Ramadan and Summer shopping cycles which this year saw spending in apps increase by a lower, but respectable 26 per cent and 34 per cent on Android and iOS respectively. 

“As the data shows, White/Yellow Friday has grown to become the most lucrative period annually for the retail industry, and increasingly, consumers are shopping for these sales on their smartphones,” commented Sue Azari, eCommerce industry lead, AppsFlyer. “With the World Cup also happening this year, there’s a huge opportunity for brands to capitalise on increased demand. The key is to start early, run a mixture of user acquisition and re-engagement campaigns, and look for creative ways to stand apart from the competition.”