The retail industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is ballooning. The e-commerce market in the region is expected to reach nearly USD $50 billion by 2028, with mobile commerce value in both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia expected to quadruple to reach USD $3.8 billion and USD $4.3 billion respectively.
Big-name companies are eager to capitalise on this growth. Brands such as Jetour Dashing, BYD, Trendyol, and Temu have recently entered or expanded their presence in MENA. These companies are making significant marketing investments in our market, as evidenced by a surge in search interest for these brand names during peak periods, like Black Friday and Singles' Day.1
As a result of this growth, the retail landscape’s peak shopping moments have undergone a transformation. MENA's retail calendar was once defined by a handful of singular events, but today’s peak retail season includes four key moments over six weeks: Saudi National Day (23 September), the Singles' Day (11 November) and Black Friday (29 November) powerhouse, and year-end festivities (November–December).
To stand out during this hyper-competitive time, it's vital to understand the demands of each of these peaks and how to master them for your retail marketing strategy.
Saudi National Day keeps growing as a retail moment
Saudi National Day takes place on 23 September and commemorates the founding and unification of the kingdom. It continues to grow as a retail moment with weekly Saudi National Day-related Google search interest rising 65% year on year, with apparel, sports, and beauty categories showing the highest year-on-year growth.2
As celebrations have increased in popularity across the country, the Saudi population has started expecting their favourite brands to offer discounts. We see weekly discount-related search interest during this period growing 25% year on year.3
People are also looking for information on celebrating Saudi National Day, with growing search interest for "saudi national day celebrations".4 And they even search for relevant content on YouTube, where we’ve seen an increase in interest for searches such as “saudi national day song”.5
Top tips for marketers
During a time of national pride, consumers are looking to fully immerse themselves in celebrations while not overspending. This is the perfect moment for brands to engage authentically through campaigns that honour local culture while also offering savings.
If your brand has a longstanding history in the region, tell your story. Forging deeper connections during a time of celebration makes consumers more loyal and likely to choose your products over other brands.
Get creative when attracting people’s attention. Partner with local craftspeople or brands to create deals on exclusive collaborations, and offer buy-three-get-one-free deals, loyalty rewards, bundle savings, or early-bird access to pre-sales.
With consumers seeking Saudi National Day inspiration on YouTube, visually appealing, multi-format ads offer a prime opportunity to engage your audience. AI-powered Demand Gen can help you identify and convert potential customers through immersive visuals. Your best performing assets are integrated across entertainment touch points, helping you reach more people that matter to your brand.
The Black Friday and Singles’ Day powerhouse
The lines between Singles’ Day (11 November) — a pamper-yourself shopping moment that first gained popularity in East Asia — and Black Friday (29 November) — a retail moment that kick-starts the end-of-year shopping season — are becoming increasingly blurred. The once singular peak of Black Friday has now transformed into twin peaks thanks to the swift rise in popularity of Singles’ Day.
In response, large retailers are extending promotional periods to cover both events, cultivating sustained periods of heightened consumer interest beyond these once traditional single-day shopping events. This is evidenced by year-on-year growth in retail search interest across the region, with Singles’ Day increasing by 15% and Black Friday by 20%.6 Interestingly, weekly retail search interest in the UAE spiked during the week of Black Friday but in the week after the event in Saudi.7
Top tips for marketers
It’s no surprise that weekly shopping app downloads start rising about a month before Black Friday in the UAE and Saudi Arabia as more regional consumers start planning to spend.8
To reach as many new users as possible — and remind existing users to log in to your app — consider AI-powered App campaigns. These promote your app across Google Search, YouTube, Discover, and more by automatically creating a selection of ads in different formats using your existing ad copy, images, videos, and other assets.
You can also enhance the shopping experience even further for consumers who have already downloaded your app with Web to App Connect. Using deep links, this solution seamlessly directs people who click on your web ads to the correct page within your app.
Of course, you also need to do your part in helping to drive conversions. Implementing user-friendly navigation, personalised recommendations, and search support in your app can help.
The end-of-year peak is equal parts celebration and savings
The final key moment in MENA’s peak retail season this year is the much anticipated and ever-growing end-of-year shopping season, which includes Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Retail search interest in the UAE, Saudi, and Egypt during the last week of December 2023 exceeded search interest in October of the same year, a time when consumers traditionally start searching for Singles’ Day and Black Friday deals.9 This wasn’t the case in 2021 and 2022, indicating that the end-of-year shopping season is becoming a regional retail moment in its own right, challenging the traditional dominance of Singles' Day and Black Friday.10
Given the time of year, the demand for gifting continues to grow across countries. The UAE tops the peak for gifts and occasions-related search interest, with 19% year-on-year growth.11 This makes sense, given the large number of expatriates in the country, many of whom celebrate Christmas.
As people gear up to splash out on celebrations and gifts for friends and family, they are equally busy searching for discounts and savings. This is especially the case in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where Google search interest for discounts in the retail category rose by 20% and 15% respectively.12
In Saudi Arabia, we’re seeing more retailers’ ads offering clearance sales towards the end of the year. This is elevating the entire year-end sales period to a more significant shopping moment in the kingdom.
Top tips for marketers
The busy end-of-year period presents a prime opportunity for brands to identify and achieve key business objectives, whether it's boosting sales, capturing a trending moment, strengthening brand recognition, or driving sign-ups. If you're unsure where to focus, Google Trends can provide valuable search insights to help you pinpoint and capitalise on a relevant opportunity.
Regardless of your goal, it's essential to offer genuine value to your customers. While discounts can be effective, go beyond price to build trust, highlight convenience, and inspire a connection with your brand. Similarly, elevate your content beyond the basics. Ask yourself: "How can we inspire our audience through our retail marketing?” and consider creating shopping guides or informative how-to videos.
The festive end-of-year atmosphere can make the shopping landscape highly competitive, so it can be challenging for brands and their shopping ads to stand out. To increase visibility, prominently feature promotions and sale prices under the Shopping tab on your website. Clearly highlight free-and-fast shipping options, as well as return and refund policies.
Discover actionable retail marketing insights for MENA’s busiest shopping season. Join Google's virtual ‘Peak Season 2024’ session on September 25th at 2PM GMT+4. Register now.
