In this article
Key takeaways
- Perfume is 12,468 ads from 1,942 advertisers: Saudi Arabia (31%), then the UAE (27%), then Kuwait (18%) and Oman (16%).
- A discount or an offer in 49% of perfume ads, urgency in 25%, a gift in 18%: above the Gulf average on all three.
- Video is 73% of perfume ads and "Shop now" the button on 55%: perfume sells from the store, with Salla and Shopify in front.
- The median price in Gulf ads is SAR 189, but each country has its own: AED 179 in the UAE and KWD 17 in Kuwait.
The size of the market in ads
Of 160,000 recent Arabic ads, 12,468 are for perfume, bakhoor, oud oil and mukhamaria, that is 8% of all Gulf ads, from 1,942 advertising pages. The category is spread out: no advertiser owns it, and the average number of ads per page is low compared with categories dominated by a few dozen big advertisers. That means a new store finds room, and it also means the competition for the same words ("oud", "long-lasting", "gift") is fierce.
Saudi Arabia first, then the UAE, with Kuwait and Oman well behind, then Qatar and Bahrain. One ad can run in several countries, and many perfume stores advertise across the whole Gulf because the product is small and easy to ship. The overall picture of the Gulf market is in the charts below.
How perfume sells: the offer, the gift and the urgency
A discount or an offer appears in 49% of perfume ads against 38% of all Gulf ads, urgency in 25% against 18%, and a gift in 18% against 10%. The category sells on the offer because the buyer cannot smell, and on the gift because perfume is a gift by nature. Cash on delivery, by contrast, is below average (15% against 17%): the brand and the packaging reassure the buyer more than paying later does. Instalments are nearly absent (2%) because the price does not call for them.
Prices in riyals across the Gulf: of 1,156 ads that stated a price: the lower quartile up to SAR 60, the median 189, the upper quartile from SAR 229. Many ads sell a "set" or "three pieces" for one price, so the stated price is often the offer, not the unit. The median copy is 70 words: perfume needs a description of scent and longevity more than a dress does.
Video, the button and the platform
Video is 73% of perfume ads and the still image 16%: unboxing, spraying and the reaction sell what the screen cannot carry. The button:
"Shop now" on 55%, "Order now" on 18%, and "WhatsApp message" on only 11%, one of the categories least reliant on chat: the buyer knows what they want and goes to the product page. The platform the ad leads to, where we could tell:
Salla first (15%), then Shopify (14%) and WhatsApp without a store (12%). Perfume is one of the few categories where Salla is ahead of WhatsApp, an effect of the Saudi market.
Country by country, in each local currency
Prices here are as written in each country's ads, in its currency; the shares are of the perfume ads shown in that country:
| Country | Ads | Advertisers | Discount | Gift | Cash on delivery | Video | Median price | "Shop now" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 3,885 | 751 | 47% | 17% | 12% | 67% | SAR 199 | 47% |
| UAE | 3,329 | 608 | 46% | 17% | 16% | 79% | AED 179 | 54% |
| Kuwait | 2,208 | 484 | 47% | 19% | 12% | 75% | KWD 17 | 57% |
| Qatar | 1,596 | 324 | 53% | 11% | 10% | 63% | QAR 211 | 47% |
| Bahrain | 1,118 | 239 | 50% | 22% | 12% | 73% | BHD 18 | 49% |
| Oman | 1,950 | 342 | 60% | 22% | 24% | 79% | OMR 15 | 57% |
- Saudi Arabia: the biggest market with the most advertisers; its ad is the shortest (46 words) and leads to the store, with "Order now" present (26%) through single-product pages. Details in Perfume stores in Saudi Arabia.
- UAE: more video (79%), longer copy (96 words) and more urgency (29%). Details in UAE perfume stores.
- Kuwait: small numbers in dinars are big value in riyals; the gift (19%) and the discount (47%) together. Details in Kuwait perfume stores.
- Oman: the highest discount (60%) and the highest cash on delivery (24%) of the six, as in its other categories.
- Qatar and Bahrain: smaller markets with fewer advertisers; Qatar has the highest median price in its own currency, and Bahrain the most urgency (34%).
What changed since our earlier read
We wrote about perfume ads a few weeks ago from a smaller sample (Perfume ads). The new read comes from a much larger sample and a newer window, and the differences are general rather than detailed:
- What held: the discount first, video the majority, "Shop now" the first button, the gift a core argument. Whoever built their ad on these four was not wrong.
- What shifted: the order of countries: Saudi Arabia is ahead of the UAE in the count of perfume ads in the new read, where the UAE was first before. The Saudi market has more advertisers now, an effect of Salla stores.
- What became clearer: the differences between countries in price and payment: Oman is the market of cash on delivery and discounts, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait the market of the store and the gift.
- The trend we are watching: the approach of Ramadan 1448 (around 8 February 2027) and Eid al-Fitr after it: the season of bakhoor, oud oil and gift boxes. The calendar is in Gulf ad seasons.
Templates and cautions for a perfume store
In our own wording, with an English gloss; use your currency and your real offer:
| Angle | Copy (ours) |
|---|---|
| Longevity | «ريحة تبقى معك من الصبح لآخر الليل. [المنتج] بـ [السعر] بدل [السعر]، والعرض لين [اليوم].» (A scent that stays with you from morning to night; price before and after; offer until [day].) |
| The gift | «علبة هدية فيها [عدد] عطور بتغليف فاخر، وبطاقة باسم من تهديه. توصل خلال [المدة].» (A gift box of [number] perfumes in luxury packaging, with a card in the recipient's name; arrives within [time].) |
| The set | «[عدد] عطور بسعر واحد: [السعر]. اختر رائحتك من [عدد] خيارات.» ([Number] perfumes for one price: [price]; choose your scent from [number] options.) |
| Cash on delivery (Oman and Qatar) | «ادفع لما يوصلك: دهن عود [الاسم] والدفع عند الاستلام في كل [الدولة].» (Pay when it arrives: [name] oud oil with cash on delivery across [country].) |
| The season | «بخور رمضان ودهن العود بعرض خاص لين [التاريخ]. اطلب الحين قبل الزحمة.» (Ramadan bakhoor and oud oil on a special offer until [date]; order now before the rush.) |
- Trademarks: "inspired by" with a global brand name can get your ad rejected and your store in trouble. Describe the scent by its notes.
- "Original": do not write it unless it is, and you can prove it.
- Shipping: perfumes are flammable liquids and couriers have rules for them; check before promising express delivery.
More hooks and templates in Arabic ad copy. In GccFY, open the perfume category, pick the country and sort by longest running: what lasted for months is your first lesson.
