Visa insights reveal seasonal spending up 20% in Nigeria

• Spending on Visa premium consumer cards increased 20% year-over-year during Ramadan and the Eid Al-Fitr period, supported by higher travel and everyday retail spending.

• Spending patterns shifted during Ramadan and peaked around Eid Al-Fitr, with total spending up +25% pts during the Eid period.

During this period, spending on Visa premium consumer cards increased 20% year-over-year, with spend share up +10% percentage points. This reflected higher spending on travel, everyday retail, and food-related categories.

Key seasonal spending trends include:

Spending by international visitors using Visa premium consumer cards in Nigeria increased 40%. Spending from the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Canada increased 40%.

International travel spending from Nigeria on Visa premium consumer cards increased by around 20%. Booking behaviour skewed toward shorter lead times, with 70% of trips booked within one month of travel. Spending to destinations including the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and France increased 40%.

Spending behaviour during Ramadan reflected both pre-month stock-up and in-month in-store activity. In the week preceding Ramadan (Feb 12-18), food and grocery spending rose 25% compared to the prior week (Feb 5-11). Spending activity also occurred later in the day, with late-night spending (1am–4am) up 35% compared to non-Ramadan weeks.

Spending peaked around Eid Al-Fitr, with total spending up 25% during the Eid period (Mar 16-19) compared to the preceding days (12–15 Mar). During Eid, spending on food and restaurants increased 80% compared to the preceding days.

Andrew Uaboi, Vice President and Country Manager for Visa in West Africa, said, “The Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period saw higher spending across travel and everyday retail categories, reflecting both inbound visitor activity and sustained local spending. These insights highlight how consumer behaviour shifts during key seasonal moments and underscore the opportunity for businesses to respond with more relevant and seamless commerce experiences.”

The VCA Retail Spend Monitor was produced by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), capturing total retail, travel, and experience-related activity during the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period (Feb 20 – Mar 20, 2026), based on a subset of VisaNet data and complemented by survey-based estimates for other payment methods.

Nicolas Khoury, SVP, Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics, CEMEA, said: “The VCA Retail Spend Monitor provides a view of how consumer spending evolves across the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period, from changes in travel patterns to shifts in everyday spending. These insights help issuers and merchants better understand seasonal behaviour and design offers and experiences that remain relevant as consumer needs change.”

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