Careem Quik will launch daily flash sales between 3pm and 5pm throughout Ramadan, offering discounts of up to 50% during the frantic hours before Iftar when Dubai and Abu Dhabi households scramble to complete their evening meal preparations. The two-hour window targets what the company sees as peak demand for last-minute grocery runs.
The campaign, launching Tuesday across both emirates, centres on 15-minute delivery promises for fresh produce, pantry staples and household essentials. Careem has secured direct partnerships with UAE farms to guarantee fruits and vegetables reach its Quik stores within 24 hours of harvest.
That farm-to-store claim matters. Speed means nothing if the dates are bruised or the herbs wilted.
Alongside the timed discounts, Careem Plus subscribers gain a new permanent benefit: 10% cashback on Quik orders, capped at 10 orders monthly. Members must hit minimum order values—AED 100 in Dubai, AED 75 in Abu Dhabi—to trigger the cashback, which posts automatically to Careem wallets after delivery. The company reports average Plus member savings of AED 300, with heavy users banking up to AED 1,000.
Free delivery on all Quik orders remains unlimited for Plus subscribers, stacking with the cashback incentive.
The Ramadan push includes curated Suhoor and Iftar collections, premium gifting options spanning dates and chocolate hampers, and a limited-edition Ramadan journal exclusive to the platform. Careem will also surface recipe suggestions with ingredients available through the app.
Quick commerce platforms view Ramadan as a critical revenue period. Competitors including Talabat Mart, Noon Minutes and Instashop have similarly ramped up operations around the Holy Month, betting that fasting households will prize convenience and speed over traditional supermarket trips. The 3-5pm flash sale window reflects a calculated gamble: that shoppers procrastinate Iftar planning until mid-afternoon, creating a predictable demand spike.
Careem launched its quick commerce vertical to complement ride-hailing and food delivery services that have operated across the Middle East since 2012. The company, which Uber acquired in 2019 for $3.1 billion, now serves over 75 million customers and has created earning opportunities for more than 3.5 million drivers—termed Captains internally—across 70 cities in 10 countries stretching from Morocco to Pakistan.
The 15-minute delivery model requires dense networks of micro-fulfilment centres stocked with high-turnover items. Whether Careem has built sufficient infrastructure in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to maintain that promise during Ramadan’s evening crush remains to be seen. Delivery windows tend to stretch when order volumes surge.
For now, the company is emphasising breadth of choice and freshness guarantees. The farm partnerships aim to differentiate Quik from competitors relying on traditional wholesale supply chains, where produce can sit in distribution centres for days before reaching consumers.
The cashback structure also signals a broader loyalty play. By limiting the benefit to 10 orders monthly, Careem caps its exposure while still incentivising frequent use. Members who order twice weekly throughout Ramadan would max out the benefit, effectively making Plus subscription costs disappear through accumulated savings.
Timing matters here too. The campaign launches on 9 February, giving Careem three weeks to build habit and awareness before Ramadan begins in early March. The stock-up sale preceding the Holy Month targets households preparing for a month of altered routines and elevated grocery spending.
Daily deals will run throughout Ramadan, though the company hasn’t detailed whether the 3-5pm flash sales will operate every day or rotate categories. That cadence will determine whether the promotion trains customers to check the app each afternoon or risks fatigue through repetition.
What’s certain: quick commerce platforms are betting that UAE consumers will pay a premium—either through subscription fees or higher per-item costs—for convenience that eliminates supermarket trips during a month when time becomes especially compressed around Iftar and Suhoor.
Careem’s move to permanent cashback benefits rather than temporary Ramadan promotions suggests confidence that Quik can retain customers beyond the Holy Month. Whether that confidence is justified will become clear in April, when routines normalise and the flash sales end.