Ramadan is the month of praying and fasting for Muslims. However, when it comes to the fasting month, needs also increased, such as stocking up on basic needs for suhoor and iftar, buying new clothes, & new prayer stuff. As a result, Muslims who predict that they can save a lot during fasting turn out to spend more during Ramadan. In order to save more money, 80% of respondents prefer to cook at home instead of eating outside.

Furthermore, in the category of basic needs, sales of cooking oil have the highest contribution (42%). This means that cooking oil has an essential role in daily needs during Ramadhan.

The trend of cooking oil sales for the last three years (2019-2021), has the same pattern during Eid al-Fitr which the peak sales happened from D-38 until D+2 Eid al-Fitr. However, there is a different pattern in 2022, the peak sales of cooking oil happened D-55 Eid al-Fitr because the government subsidizes the cooking oil[¹], the demand increased significantly meanwhile the supply is limited in the market and this condition caused a scarcity of cooking oil. In addition, as reported by Detik News[²], Kasatgas Pangan Polri Irjen Helmy Santika explained that the scarcity of cooking oil is also caused by wholesale action and stock holding in amounts above the average monthly requirement resold by resellers or speculators at prices above the provisions.

And if we break down by member segmentation, platinum and gold members don't hesitate to buy the cooking oil at an expensive price. In contrast to the silver, bronze, and lapse members, they will look for another substitute products that are affordable.

Many people started to switch to substitute products such as margarine and premium cooking oil. The sales of margarine and premium cooking oil increased during the scarcity period.

Furthermore, when we take a look at members' behavior during the scarcity condition, platinum and gold member didn’t change their behavior. Meanwhile, for Silver, Bronze, and Lapsed members tend to switch their menu to roasting or boiled menu as an effort to save their cooking oil.

More specifically about respondents' opinion, 64% of respondents feel disappointed because the cooking oil’s price increased significantly and it’s hard to find the product in the market. Meanwhile, 29% of other respondents felt resigned to the current situation.

We hope these insights are beneficial for you, and if you would like to know more about consumer behavior, feel free to contact us.

Source:

[1] Pemerintah Subsidi Harga Minyak Goreng Rp 14.000/Liter (2022, Mar 15).https://news.detik.com/detiktv/d-5984330/pemerintah-subsidi-harga-minyak-goreng-curah-rp-14-ribuliter? accessed on 18 May 2022.

[2] Jangan Timbun! Satgas Pangan Pantau Distribusi Minyak Goreng yang Sempat Langka (2022, Mar 19). https://news.detik.com/berita/d-5991315/jangan-timbun-satgas-pangan-pantau-distribusi-minyak-goreng-yang-sempat-langka?. , accessed on 18 May 2022