Ramadan and Raya promotion ideas by trade, from 2025 data

Plan Ramadan by trade, not with one promotion for everyone. In March 2025, the Ramadan month, reviews written per day rose at barbershops (up 23%), salons (up 36%), car washes (up 21%) and car workshops (up 10%) against February. They fell at restaurants (down 20%), cafés (down 15%) and laundries (down 19%).

So barbers, salons and car washes should plan for a rush. Restaurants and cafés should plan for buka puasa, moreh and the return after Raya. Workshops should sell the balik kampung check.

Ramadan 2025 moved reviews toward grooming and cars, and away from food

Reviews written are a sign of visits, not a count of them. "Change per day" compares March's daily average with February's, because February is shorter. Ramadan 2025 ran from about 1 to 30 March, with Raya on 31 March.

In 2026, Ramadan split across February and March, with Raya on 20 March. Against January, reviews per day in March 2026 fell again at restaurants (down 13%), cafés (down 12%) and laundries (down 20%), and rose at workshops (up 8%), barbers (up 2%) and salons (up 5%). Car washes fell 11%, so check your own records too.

Customers search for haircuts, inai and car care in the Raya month

Over the 12 months to September 2026, March 2026 (the month of Raya) was the busiest month for these Malaysian Google searches:

• gaya rambut lelaki: 18,100 searches, against an average of 12,050 a month
• low fade: 49,500, against 30,650
• inai: 14,800, against 5,258
• tinted kereta: 4,400, against 3,317
• cuci kereta: 2,900, against 2,017
• servis kereta: 2,400, against 1,867

Your Google listing needs its Ramadan hours, Raya closing days and prices before customers search.

Start planning Ramadan 2027 in November

Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February, with Hari Raya Aidilfitri around 10 March; the official dates follow the moon sighting. Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027, two days before. As in 2026, the fasting month will run across February and March.

• November 2026. Pull each outlet's sales and reviews for March 2025 and for February to March 2026. Note which outlets got busier and which went quiet.
• December 2026. Agree staff leave for Chinese New Year and for Raya. Two holidays a month apart means two rounds of leave requests.
• Early January 2027. Set Ramadan menus, packages, prices and opening hours. Open corporate buka puasa bookings.
• Mid-January 2027. Put Ramadan hours and Raya closing days on every outlet's Google listing, and tell regulars.
• During Ramadan. Read each outlet's new reviews every week.
• Two weeks after Raya. Read each outlet's reviews for rush complaints.

Barbers and salons: plan for the rush, not a discount

Barbershop reviews per day rose 23% in Ramadan 2025 and salon reviews 36%. A busy month needs more capacity, not more promotion.

• Extend hours in the last two weeks before Raya and post them on Google.
• Take bookings or give queue numbers by WhatsApp, so walk-ins don't crowd the shop.
• Roster every barber or stylist for the final week, and move days off to after Raya.
• Many customers come after buka puasa. Consider late sessions in the final week.
• Salons: open inai, hair colour and blow-dry slots for the last days before Raya, and take bookings early.
• Stagger breaks so fasting staff can break their fast on time, and leave room for it in the booking schedule.

Keep the sale soft even when the shop is full. "No hard selling" is a review topic at 25% of the best-rated salons in our library and 6% of the lowest-rated. See our barbershop and salon marketing ideas.

Car washes and workshops: sell the balik kampung check

Car wash reviews per day rose 21% in Ramadan 2025, and car workshop reviews 10%.

• Car washes. Add an express exterior lane for the last week before Raya, roster extra crew and give queue numbers. Sell an interior clean for the long drive home.
• Workshops. Offer a fixed-price balik kampung check: tyres, battery, brakes, oil, coolant, wipers and air-conditioning. Give a written quote before any extra work.
• Spread the rush. Take bookings from the first week of Ramadan, when bays are still free.
• After Raya. Offer a check after the drive back, for tyres and wheel alignment.

Our car wash and car workshop guides cover the rest of the year.

Restaurants and cafés: win buka puasa, moreh and the return after Raya

Restaurant reviews per day fell 20% in Ramadan 2025 and café reviews 15%. Both rose in April 2025, after Raya, to 16,263 restaurant reviews and 23,992 café reviews.

• A buka puasa set at a fixed price. Food on the table by maghrib, around 7.25pm in the Klang Valley. Take bookings and pre-orders by WhatsApp, and put dates and drinks out first.
• Price the set against its parts. Among 910 restaurants with a Google price list, the median nasi goreng kampung is RM10.50 and teh tarik RM4.50.
• Takeaway for buka at home, ready from 5pm. Compete with the Ramadan bazaar on convenience and consistency, not on price.
• A moreh menu for after tarawih prayers, from about 10pm, if your area stays up.
• Cafés and bakeries. Shift effort from daytime coffee to takeaway drinks before buka, and take Raya cookie and hamper pre-orders with a firm last order date.
• After Raya. Roster fully for the first weekend back, and offer open house catering.

Our restaurant menu ideas and café marketing ideas help you choose what goes in the set.

Laundries: service machines early, then sell the bulky wash

Laundry reviews per day fell 19% in Ramadan 2025. Use the quiet first weeks to service machines and fix the ones that fail. In the last week before Raya, promote curtains, comforters and baju raya, washed and dried before guests arrive.

After any rush, read each outlet's reviews on its own. Highground reads what customers write about each of your outlets and your rivals, and tells you which outlet to fix. Pilots are open to chains in the Klang Valley.

Questions owners ask

What are good Ramadan promotion ideas for a restaurant?

A fixed-price buka puasa set served on time, takeaway packs ready from 5pm, and a moreh menu if your area eats late. Take corporate bookings from January. In our library, restaurant reviews per day fell 20% in Ramadan 2025 against February, so plan for a quieter month and a strong one after Raya.

What are good Raya promotion ideas?

For barbers, salons and car washes, the best Raya idea is capacity: longer hours, bookings and full rosters in the last two weeks. For bakeries, cookie and hamper pre-orders. Never offer anything in return for a review, because Google bans rewards for reviews.

When should I start planning Ramadan promotions for 2027?

In November 2026. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February, right after Chinese New Year on 6 February. Agree staff leave in December and set menus, packages and hours by early January.

Idea promosi Ramadan for a small shop with one or two outlets?

Start with your Google listing: Ramadan hours, Raya closing days and current prices. Then pick one idea for your trade from this page. Our price list maker puts your set or package on Google.

Should I give discounts during Ramadan?

Barbers, salons and car washes rarely need to, because demand rises. Restaurants and cafés do better with a fixed-price set. Our guide to managing multiple branches helps you check each outlet through the season.

Counted on 22 October 2026 from our library of public Google Maps data for Malaysia: reviews written per month from February to April 2025 and January to April 2026 for nine trades, Google's review topics for 397 salons, and price lists for 910 restaurants. Search figures are Google Ads monthly searches in Malaysia for October 2025 to September 2026.