After the hustle and bustle of December, the retail industry takes a break in January, then revs up again for the busy month of February.
Between events like Valentine’s Day, Ramadan and Lunar New Year, retailers are in a flurry, launching limited-edition products and hosting holiday-focused pop-ups and other in-person brand activations.
For instance, several luxury brands, such as the Singapore-based accessories brand Charles & Keith and the French cosmetics firm Clarins, have launched limited-edition products in festive reds with a horse motif, paying homage to this year’s animal, the Fire Horse.
Additionally, several brands have already begun celebrating the Lunar New Year with festive events nationwide.
On February 12, Gold House, a non-profit collective dedicated to accelerating the socioeconomic equity of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, partnered with American skincare brand Tatcha to host a major Lunar New Year event at Chinese Tuxedo and Opera House, a Chinatown-based restaurant and bar, in New York City, which featured a branded beauty touch-up station for attendees to use and explore Tatcha’s products.
This year is unique: for the first time in a century, Ramadan and Lunar New Year begin at almost exactly the same time.
This month, Ramadan is expected to begin between February 17 and February 19 (the exact date is determined by the sighting of the new moon, which varies by country), while the Lunar New Year starts on February 17.
While there is certainly a significant opportunity for retailers during several back-to-back holidays, both religious and non-religious, there must also be a healthy degree of caution and cultural understanding before launching a marketing campaign or hosting major cultural events.
How can cultural insensitivity rub customers the wrong way?
Until the early 2010s, most brands in the US barely acknowledged Lunar New Year as an event, let alone set aside time and budget for themed marketing campaigns, products, and in-person activations.
It wasn’t until the late 2010s and into the early 2020s that luxury brands, such as the British apparel and accessories retailer Burberry, began running dedicated campaigns to connect with their Asian and Asian-American consumer base for this holiday.
According to the retail market intelligence platform Edited, releases of Lunar New Year luxury products rose by 75 per cent from 2019 to 2020 alone.
However, many customers weren’t quick to jump into purchasing these products, as they felt that many items that were released specifically for Lunar New Year came across as tacky or tone-deaf with near-identical zodiac visuals.
As Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, a Shanghai-based boutique marketing agency, told Inside Retail, the releases that cut through today’s Lunar New Year marketing fatigue are those that convey a sharper sense of self-awareness rather than loud symbolism.
“Zodiac-themed products, red-and-gold visuals, or last-minute celebrity tie-ins no longer register as distinctive on social media. They’ve become visual background noise,” she said.
“What does resonate is when brands tap into a real social or emotional pressure point, or reinterpret tradition from an angle that makes consumers feel deeply seen and understood.”
She pointed to Estée Lauder’s approach as a noteworthy example of a brand’s understanding of cultural relevance versus pointless pandering.
Where many beauty players leaned heavily into zodiac motifs, Estée Lauder avoided overt symbolism by centring its campaign on “Mrs Estée Lauder’s New Year Dinner,” drawing on its own heritage and positioning itself not as a guest trying to blend in, but as a refined host.
“This de-zodiacized approach cut through the seasonal clutter precisely because it felt self-assured. It signaled cultural respect without overcompensation, and elevated the brand with a sense of timeless sophistication,” explained Plotnick.
Although Ramadan is not yet as widely celebrated in the US as the Lunar New Year, with specific product releases and marketing, there is still significant consideration among Muslim consumers.
How brands need to pay respect to consumers during Ramadan
According to DinarStandard, a New York-based growth strategy research and advisory firm focused on the global Halal/ethical economy and emerging Muslim markets, as of 2025, Muslims in North America represent a combined consumer market of US$186 billion.
Ramadan is considered to be an especially sacred time for Muslims, observed as the ninth month of the lunar calendar and marked by mandatory fasting from dawn to sunset for adult Muslims.
Even though Ramadan is associated with restraint, spending often rises as Muslim households prepare meals, host gatherings, and begin shopping for Eid, a three-day Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan’s dawn-to-sunset fasting. The opportunities for brands to engage with this consumer base are plentiful, from curated food selections at grocery stores to culturally respectful marketing messages.
However, for brands to successfully engage with consumers during this month-long religious observance, they must educate themselves about the meaning of Ramadan and avoid appearing flippant toward Muslim shoppers.
As Peter Gould, the founder of Gould Studio, a strategic design team with bases in Sydney, Dubai, and Jakarta, stated, “Being present during Ramadan isn’t as simple as adding a crescent moon to a campaign or sending a generic ‘Ramadan Kareem’ on the first day of the month. It requires understanding the diversity, rhythms and sensitivities of how the month is actually lived.”
Gould explained that Muslim communities are culturally diverse and that Ramadan routines vary significantly.
“People’s schedules change, evenings become more socially active, energy can fluctuate during the day, and spiritual focus often deepens as the month progresses,” he continued.
“The most important takeaway for teams is not to over-segment audiences into personas, but to listen closely, design with humility and support real needs in ways that feel timely and respectful.”
Gould pointed to Ikea’s Gokvällå Ramadan collection as an example of intentional design in practice.
He explained that the collection, featuring several items for the dinner table and for home decor, reflects everyday moments at home during the month, from gathering for iftar to hosting family and friends.
Ultimately, Gould noted, Muslim audiences are young, digitally connected, and increasingly expect brands to understand their values without reducing Ramadan to aesthetics or slogans.
Retailers need to apply the same attitude toward every cultural and religious holiday, or risk alienating or infuriating the consumer base they are trying to connect with.
Further reading:
Beyond red and gold: How brands are rethinking Chinese New Year marketing
