Saudi Sales Season 2026: How Retailers Can Turn Discounts Into Sales With SMS and WhatsApp
A strong discount does not automatically create a successful campaign.
A retailer can reduce prices, prepare creative assets and launch discount codes, but if customers do not discover the offer at the right moment, the campaign may never reach its full potential.
This is where Saudi sales season marketing through direct channels such as SMS and WhatsApp becomes relevant.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce announced that the 2026 Sales Season runs from August 1 through October 31, 2026, giving retailers and ecommerce businesses an extended period in which to test different promotional strategies.
The objective, however, should not be to send the highest possible number of messages.
A better question is:
How can you send the right offer to the right customer at the right time?
Why a Discount Alone Is Not Enough
Consider a retailer discounting selected sports products.
Sending one message to the entire customer database saying:
“Up to 40% off. Shop now.”
may generate some purchases.
But if the retailer knows which customers have previously purchased sports products, it can create a campaign that is more relevant to that audience.
This is the shift from simple broadcasting to customer segmentation.
Major retail communications platforms increasingly focus on segmentation, personalization and using customer data across SMS and WhatsApp campaigns rather than relying entirely on generic messaging.
Build Interest Before the Sale Begins
Your first message does not always need to contain the full discount.
A teaser might say:
“Something worth waiting for is coming tomorrow. Be among the first to see our new seasonal offer.”
The objective is awareness.
However, avoid creating a long sequence of teaser messages. Every message should have a clear reason to exist.
Make the Launch Message Simple
When the sale begins, customers should understand the offer within seconds.
For example:
“Our seasonal sale is now live. Get 25% off selected products until Thursday with code SALE25.”
That includes four important elements:
Offer + value + deadline + action.
Avoid trying to fit several promotions and calls to action into one short message.
Segment the Audience
This is where seasonal campaigns become more sophisticated.
When the necessary customer data and permissions are available, retailers can create audiences based on factors such as:
- Previous purchases
- Last order date
- Product category
- City or branch
- Customer value
- Active versus inactive customers
- Loyalty membership
A customer who purchased yesterday does not necessarily need the same message as someone who has not returned for six months.
Win Back Inactive Customers
A sales season can also be a reason to reconnect with customers who have stopped purchasing.
Instead of saying:
“Get 20% off.”
Try framing the reason for contact:
“It’s been a while 👋 Come back during our seasonal sale and use SAVE20 before Thursday.”
Global ecommerce messaging strategies commonly include SMS and WhatsApp in customer re-engagement and personalized promotional journeys.
Use Last Chance Carefully
Urgency can encourage action when the deadline is genuine.
For example:
“Final hours: 25% off ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. Use SALE25 before the promotion closes.”
Do not make every day a “last chance.”
Customers quickly lose trust when supposedly expiring offers repeatedly return.
SMS or WhatsApp?
There is no universal winner.
SMS
SMS works particularly well for concise, time-sensitive communications such as:
- Sale launch alerts
- Discount codes
- Flash sales
- Win-back offers
- Final reminders
OurSMS provides bulk SMS services and an SMS API that businesses can connect to applications and business systems.
WhatsApp Business Platform
WhatsApp can support richer and more conversational shopping journeys.
However, promotional WhatsApp messaging must follow the platform’s requirements. Meta requires businesses to obtain user opt-in before initiating messaging, and marketing communications operate through the platform’s marketing template framework.
The better question is therefore not simply SMS or WhatsApp?
It is:
Which channel fits this customer and this particular message?
Six Campaign Ideas for the Sales Season
1. Early Access: Give loyal customers access before the wider launch.
2. Flash Sale: Run a short promotion on one product category.
3. Category Campaign: Promote products based on customer interests rather than the entire catalogue.
4. Win-back Campaign: Create an incentive for inactive customers.
5. VIP Campaign: Reward valuable or highly engaged customers.
6. Last Chance: Send one genuine reminder before the promotion expires.
Connect Campaigns to Your Store or CRM
Campaigns become more scalable when messaging is connected to business systems.
A workflow might look like:
Ecommerce platform → customer data → segment → campaign → API → SMS → result
Or:
CRM → inactive customer → trigger → message → discount code → purchase
OurSMS provides developer APIs for SMS and WhatsApp integrations, along with Webhooks and delivery reporting that businesses can use when building messaging workflows around their existing systems.
Remember Saudi Discount Requirements
Marketing communications should accurately reflect the underlying promotion.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce provides an electronic discount licensing service, with requirements that include providing prices before and after the discount.
The Ministry’s discount guidelines also address clear discount percentages, displaying prices before and after the reduction, and communicating return and exchange policies during sale periods.
Your SMS or WhatsApp message should therefore never promise an offer that customers cannot actually find when they reach the store or website.
Common Mistakes
Common seasonal campaign mistakes include sending the same promotion to everyone, over-messaging customers, creating false urgency, adding too many calls to action, and directing customers to a landing page that does not match the advertised offer.
Another major mistake is measuring success only by the number of messages sent.
Retailers should instead connect messaging performance to business outcomes such as coupon usage, purchases, conversion, order value and performance by customer segment.
Conclusion
A successful sales season is not simply a competition to offer the biggest discount.
Retailers that understand who they are talking to, what the customer is interested in, when to communicate and which channel to use can create a more organized promotional strategy.
SMS can support concise and urgent offers. WhatsApp can support richer interactions. APIs can connect those communications with ecommerce platforms and CRM data.
With Saudi Arabia’s 2026 Sales Season continuing through October 31, businesses still have time to test different campaign approaches, measure results and improve targeting throughout the season.
The goal is not merely to tell customers that a discount exists.
The goal is to help the right customer discover the right offer at the right moment.
OurSMS provides SMS campaigns, SMS API and WhatsApp Business API solutions for Saudi businesses that want to integrate customer messaging with their digital systems.