On the last week of September, I watched trucks queue from our Riyadh loading bays out onto the road. Riyadh Season had not started, but the cargo had already landed. That is the tell. The season now starts earlier than the calendar says.
Sellers underestimate two things this time of year: customs queues and last-mile congestion. From late September, Riyadh Season ads cover billboards across the city, and parcel volume usually jumps 30-40%. A 3-day delivery can stretch to 5-7 days by mid-October. COD rejection climbs too. I have seen it go from 12% to 18%. In cash markets, a delayed order is often a cancelled order.
Customs is tighter. Saudi inspections before big events slow down. General cargo sits 1-3 days; batteries and branded goods take longer. Do not treat arrival at port as arrival at warehouse. My rule: clear White Friday and Riyadh Season bestsellers before October 15, then top up by sea. Air is for the first wave, sea for the long tail. If you wait until the first week of November, you are paying express rates for stock that will arrive after the peak.
Practical moves: check the short address code and mobile number first. During peak, nobody has time to fix a bad address. Second, call COD buyers early and switch them to prepaid where possible. Third, do not put all stock in one Riyadh warehouse. Dammam or Jeddah adds a day but cuts overflow risk. Fourth, align invoices, HS codes and Arabic labels before customs asks. A missing ingredient list can turn a 2-day clearance into a week.
Last year a seller lost six days because the Arabic ingredient list was missing from the packaging. He missed the first wave. A photo check before dispatch would have caught it.
We have extended night receiving to 22:00 at our Riyadh warehouse, but slots still go fast. Book the appointment before you book the truck.
How many days early are you shipping for this Riyadh Season? Or are you still betting on port-to-doorstep?