Middle East Markets Social Media Benchmarks: Fashion Q2 2026

What’s in this report

In Q2 2026, Fashion brands in the Middle East Markets saw Instagram median post engagement rates climb to around 1.95%, while Facebook engagement sat much lower at roughly 1.10%. Retail continued to dominate interaction share on both platforms, with Fashion holding a modest single-digit slice, and Reels and Carousels remained the top-performing organic Instagram formats.

This quarterly benchmarks report pulls from Emplifi’s dataset of 200 Facebook pages and 201 Instagram profiles across Middle East Markets, covering April 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026.

User-generated content: what’s achievable

Brands using Emplifi’s UGC solution this quarter saw:

• 8.02x increase in conversion rate
• 4.31x increase in website visits
• 1.01x increase in average order value

These figures represent the median uplift seen across Emplifi’s Fashion UGC Accounts Benchmark for Q2 2026 — Fashion is one of the larger verticals with its own dedicated UGC benchmark, distinct from the generic Brands UGC figures.

Organic performance: Facebook and Instagram

Interaction share by industry

On Facebook, Retail accounts for 20.8% of total brand interactions — the highest share of any category. On Instagram, Retail also leads with 20.7% of interactions. Fashion itself shares 1.3% of total Facebook interactions in the Middle East Markets, and ranks 8th by interaction volume among Instagram categories.

Facebook interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Instagram interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Platform landscape at a glance

In Middle East Markets, Instagram brand profiles carry a higher median follower count than Facebook pages. The figures below reflect median values across all profiles in the sample at the end of Q2 2026.

Activity volume on both platforms is roughly comparable, while user engagement on Instagram outpaces Facebook.

Note: The specific table above reflects qualitative comparisons rather than exact figures from Emplifi’s dataset.

Median post interactions

Median post interactions track the middle-ranked page or profile by monthly interactions — a measure of typical performance rather than outlier peaks.

Instagram median post interactions peaked near 27–28 in mid-2025, dipped as low as 16 in October 2025, and settled around 20 by Q2 2026, while Facebook held broadly flat in a narrow 2–5 range across the full period.

Relative median post interactions

Relative median interactions index each platform’s performance against its own peak over the reporting period, making it easier to compare directional trends across platforms regardless of absolute scale.

By Q2 2026, Instagram’s relative median interactions sat at around 72% of its peak, while Facebook had recovered to about 65% of its own peak after dropping as low as 43% in early 2026.

Median post impressions

Impressions measure how many times posts were displayed, regardless of interaction. This metric is available for both platforms and reflects reach rather than engagement.

Instagram impressions climbed sharply from around 3,000 in mid-2025 to a peak near 11,500 in October 2025, before pulling back to approximately 3,300 by Q2 2026 — likely reflecting algorithmic reach patterns tied to Reels distribution. Facebook impressions remained low and comparatively flat throughout, ending around 1,500.

Engagement rate trends

Median post engagement rates this quarter:

• Instagram: ~1.95%
• Facebook: ~1.10%

Instagram engagement held fairly steady in a 1.4–1.8% band for most of the year before rising sharply to nearly 2% by Q2 2026. Facebook engagement stayed close to 0.55–0.65% for most of the period before a similar late climb to around 1.10%.

Best-performing post types

Facebook: Photo and Reel continue to outperform other formats organically. In Q2 2026, Photo generated a median of 3 post interactions, while Reel reached 2.

Instagram: Reel and Carousel posts lead organic performance. Reels generated a median of 27 post interactions this quarter; Carousels reached 24.

Full organic post type performance (Q2 2026):

Post type distribution trends:

On Facebook, Photo remains the dominant post format at around 62% of posts, though Reels are gaining share steadily — rising from near zero earlier in the year to approximately 30% by Q2 2026. On Instagram, Reels, Images, and Carousels each account for roughly a third of posts published, with Reels and Carousels driving the majority of top-performing content.

Top performing pages and profiles

Facebook — top pages by total interactions (Q2 2026):

Instagram — top profiles by total interactions (Q2 2026):

Top posts this quarter

The highest-performing individual posts by interactions across Middle East Markets brands in Q2 2026:

Facebook:

Instagram:

How does your brand compare?

These benchmarks reflect median performance across thousands of brands in Emplifi’s dataset. Get a free personalized assessment to see exactly where your brand stands today.

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Paid performance: Facebook and Instagram ads

Where brands are spending

The majority of paid spend for Middle East Markets Fashion brands goes to FB feed, followed by IG feed and IG instagram stories. Spending on FB feed is 8.9 percentage points higher than on IG feed.

CPC and CPM by placement

The most cost-efficient placements for Middle East Markets Fashion brands this quarter:

• Lowest CPC: FB feed, FB facebook reels, and IG instagram stories
• Lowest CPM: FB facebook reels, IG instagram reels, and FB feed

CPC and CPM by placement (Q2 2026):

Click-through rate by placement

Within the Fashion brands benchmark, FB feed leads on CTR at 1.99%, compared to IG feed at 1.45%.

CTR by placement (Q2 2026):

Cost trends over time

Q2 2026 ad cost benchmarks for Middle East Markets:

Fashion-specific CPC held in a $0.16–$0.23 range for most of the year before dipping to a low of $0.16 in December 2025 and closing Q2 2026 at approximately $0.17. The region-wide figure tracked well below that throughout, ending around $0.09. CPM for Fashion brands ranged $2.00–$3.05, peaking in November 2025 and ending near $2.60, while the region-wide CPM stayed close to $0.85 all period. CTR for Fashion trended upward overall, ending near 1.58% after a peak of about 1.83% in December 2025, while the region-wide CTR ended around 1.03%. Note: the source deck’s cost-trend charts (CPC, CPM, CTR, and Spend) label the region-wide comparison line “Asia” rather than “Middle East Markets” — this appears to be a leftover label from a shared chart template rather than a data error, and we have treated that line as the Middle East Markets region-wide benchmark consistent with the rest of this report.