Saudi National Day Sale 2027: A Seller's Planning Guide

Every 23 September, Saudi Arabia turns green. Streets fill with flags, families head out for fireworks, and shoppers go looking for deals.

For sellers, that makes Saudi National Day the second-biggest Saudi-only sale of the year, right behind White Friday. And unlike White Friday, you're not competing with the whole world for attention.

The 2027 edition is the 97th, and it lands on a Thursday. Here's how to plan it: when to run your sale, what sells, the licence you need, the flag rules, ad costs and a month-by-month timeline.

What is the Saudi National Day sale?

Saudi National Day marks the unification of the Kingdom in 1932. It's a public holiday, and since the mid-2000s it has grown into a full retail season.

It isn't the same as Founding Day on 22 February, which marks 1727 and has an earthy heritage look. That one has its own Founding Day marketing guide.

Almost every big Saudi retailer runs a campaign. noon, Amazon.sa, Jarir, eXtra and Nike all build National Day landing pages with green banners and special codes.

Saudi shipping platform OTO saw orders placed with National Day offers more than double in a single year.

The mood is proud and festive, not bargain-bin. Shoppers buy gifts, spoil themselves and dress up in green. Your campaign should feel like you're joining a celebration, not just clearing stock.

Want the full year of Gulf sales? Start with the seasonal marketing hub.

When should you run your National Day sale?

Run it for about ten days, from roughly 16 to 25 September. That's when the big retailers open their deals and when shoppers start searching.

The official window gives you room. The Ministry of Commerce's 2025 seasonal licences covered the whole second half of September. Some brands also keep a code running into early October.

The 2027 timing is a gift. A Thursday holiday rolls straight into the Saudi weekend, so expect a long weekend of browsing and buying.

So when should you start talking about it? Tease the sale about a week before it opens, so shoppers are waiting when the deals go live.

What sells on Saudi National Day?

Electronics and gifts lead, but almost every category joins in. Look at what the big stores push and you'll see the pattern:

• Electronics. Phones, laptops, TVs and air conditioners. eXtra, Jarir and Amazon.sa build their whole campaign around them.
• Fragrance and oud. A natural National Day gift. Amazon.sa features perfumes on its National Day page.
• Fashion and sportswear. Nike, Under Armour and Ounass all run National Day edits. Green pieces, abayas and thobes sell well for celebrations.
• Green-themed products. Flags, decorations, scarves, mugs and party supplies. noon sells National Day flags and mugs from about SAR 30.
• Home and hosting. Serving trays, cake stands and coffee sets for family gatherings.

You don't need a green product to take part. A green gift box, a limited bundle or a national-themed product page is enough.

Not sure what to stock? Our guide to the best products to sell in Saudi Arabia ranks categories by demand.

Which National Day offers work best?

The best offers feel local. Three formats work again and again:

1. Anniversary-number codes. Put the edition number in the code, like KSA97. Last year, eXtra's ND96 code added an extra 10% on top of running deals.
2. The number 23. Tie the offer to the date, like 23% off. noon's National Day page paired a 23% discount with a partner bank card.
3. Bundles and gift sets. A green-wrapped set lets you raise your basket value instead of cutting prices hard.

Pair the offer with Tabby or Tamara instalments. Splitting a big electronics or fragrance basket into four payments makes it an easy yes.

Do you need a discount licence for National Day?

Yes. Every sale campaign in Saudi Arabia needs a discount licence from the Ministry of Commerce, and that includes online stores.

It takes minutes. You apply at sales.mc.gov.sa, pay SAR 300 per store and the licence is issued instantly.

There's a bonus with the seasonal licence. It doesn't use up your store's yearly allowance of discount days, so you keep those for your own sales later.

Shoppers can scan the licence barcode to check the deal is real. Put it on your sale page with pride. For the full pricing rules, see our guide to pricing in SAR and AED.

How should you use the flag and national symbols?

Use green and white freely, and handle the flag with care. The Saudi flag carries the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, so it's a sacred text as well as a national symbol.

Here are the rules that keep your campaign safe:

Keep the tone warm and respectful. Our cultural localization guide covers imagery, modesty and religious symbols in more depth.

How do noon and Amazon run National Day?

Both marketplaces build a dedicated National Day store with green branding. noon's KSA page promises 30–75% off, and Amazon.sa runs a National Day deals page covering mobiles, appliances and perfume.

That traffic is the easiest win for marketplace sellers. Here's how to get in:

• Watch your seller portal from July. noon Seller Lab and Amazon Seller Central brief sellers on deal types and deadlines ahead of the event.
• Check stock in early. FBN and FBA check-in usually closes 3–6 weeks before an event.
• Budget for ads. Deal badges get clicks, but sponsored ads keep you visible on busy search pages.

For the ad setup, see noon advertising and Amazon advertising.

What do ads cost around National Day?

Ad prices rise in every Gulf peak, and National Day is one of them. More brands bid for the same Saudi audience, so the cost of 1,000 impressions (CPM) goes up.

Here's what normal weeks look like, before any peak lift:

Channel	Typical CPM	Best for
Meta (Facebook, Instagram)	About USD 12 (SAR 45)	Retargeting and catalogue ads
TikTok	SAR 2.37–9	Cheap reach and creator videos
Snapchat	SAR 6–18	Young Saudi shoppers and offer-led ads

How big is the peak? Saudi agencies report that patriotic campaigns push CPMs up 40–60% around National Day.

That's a smaller jump than White Friday. In November 2025, UAE Facebook CPMs hit about 2.6 times the year's low (Superads).

So what should you do? Build your audiences and creative in early September, while auctions are calm.

Then spend hardest in the four days around 23 September. Our Snapchat vs TikTok guide helps you split the budget.

Your National Day 2027 planning timeline

Work backwards from Thursday 23 September 2027. From factory order to the day, production and sea freight take 10–12 weeks, so the first job comes early.

Want to see National Day next to Ramadan, Eid and White Friday? Use the calendar below, filtered to Saudi Arabia.

Worked example: a fragrance gift store

Let's run the numbers for a small Saudi store selling oud gift sets. Its best-seller usually sells for SAR 299, VAT included.

For National Day 97, it offers 20% off all gift sets, which covers more than half its range. The set drops to SAR 239.

Here's the catch. A 20% price cut nearly halves the profit on each order. The store needs about 1.8 times its usual orders just to stand still.

Ads add to the bill. Say the store spends SAR 2,000 on Meta, where a normal Saudi CPM is about SAR 45. With a 50% National Day lift, that buys roughly 30,000 impressions.

Covering that spend takes about 32 more orders at SAR 63 each. So the real target is about 124 orders, or 2.5 times a normal week.

There's a smarter version. Keep the 20% on the single set, and add a "National Day bundle" of two sets in a green box at 15% off.

The bundle sells for SAR 508 and earns about SAR 185 per order. Two single sets at 20% off earn SAR 126 between them. One SAR 300 licence covers both offers.

Notes for marketplace sellers

• Price from a real "was" price. Deal pages show strike-through prices, so make sure your earlier price is genuine.
• Fees are charged on the sale price. A 20% cut also lowers your commission, but fixed FBN and FBA fees stay the same. Check low-priced items.
• Join the event store. Ask your account manager how to get your deals on the National Day page. It's the main traffic source.

Notes for foreign and Chinese sellers

• Start earlier. Air freight saves time, but most margins need sea freight, which means ordering by early July.
• Check your packaging. Ask your factory for green designs with no flag or Shahada, especially on bags and wrapping.
• Use a Saudi 3PL. Local stock means next-day delivery during the sale. Compare partners with our free quotes service.

Notes for UAE-based sellers

• Run it on your Saudi storefront only. Your UAE customers celebrate their own National Day on 2 December, so save the red, green, white and black creative for that.
• Follow Saudi rules for Saudi sales. The licence and the 10% minimum apply to sales aimed at Saudi shoppers.
• Plan back to back. National Day is the first of the year's big Q4 run. White Friday follows in November, then UAE National Day and the Dubai Shopping Festival in December.