Research confirms ‘Ramadan effect' as region's mobile app revenues surpass US$1.7 bn
Research reveals that mobile app activity across the region saw a significant uplift during the Holy Month with a 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in sessions across gaming, shopping, and finance apps. Non-organic installs also increased by an estimated 10 per cent YoY across categories and in-app purchase revenue climbed by 18 per cent YoY to reach US$1.70bn.
'This year's Ramadan data reinforces how critical the season has become for mobile-first engagement strategies,' said Sue Azari, Industry Lead – eCommerce, at AppsFlyer. 'The leap in shopping installs across the region reflects users' growing comfort with mobile commerce as their default shopping channel — particularly in markets like the UAE where promotional cycles and user expectations are maturing fast.'
During Ramadan, shopping app sessions across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar rose by over 20 per cent YoY, reaching 682 million this year. This was accompanied by a 76 per cent increase in non-organic installs across the region. Shopping apps saw the strongest uplift in the first half of Ramadan, with a 111 per cent increase in installs compared to the same period in 2024, followed by a 47 per cent rise in the second half, AppsFlyer reports.
Finance apps also delivered strong results, with sessions increasing by 9.7 per cent and in-app revenue growing by 29.35 per cent, reaching US$650m. However, non-organic installs in finance declined slightly (6 per cent YoY), suggesting that while fewer paid users were acquired, those who did convert delivered higher value.
Gaming apps held steady, with flat session growth (0.05 per cent) and stable monetisation, though non-organic installs fell marginally (-1 per cent YoY).
While regional metrics outpaced local performance in some categories, the UAE continues to contribute meaningfully across key verticals. Non-organic installs nearly doubled for shopping apps, growing 97 per cent YoY, with install activity peaking in the second half of the holy month (103 per cent).
In the finance category, UAE usage was concentrated in the early and late weeks of Ramadan, though non-organic installs fell by 7 per cent overall, with a 24 per cent drop in the final two weeks, indicating a reliance on early acquisition and strong organic performance. Gaming app sessions in the UAE mirrored regional trends, and installs remained stable, with a slight YoY decline of 1 per cent.
To gather these results, AppsFlyer analysed anonymised aggregated data from across the Middle East during the Ramadan period, covering over 800 apps that each recorded at least 1,000 daily installs per country.
In total, the dataset included 220 million installs, spanning key markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan. YoY comparisons are based on full-Ramadan period performance from 2024 and 2025, including non-organic installs, sessions, and in-app revenue across the shopping, finance, and gaming categories.
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