Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, is this weekend, and — as with everything in the region — it has been disrupted by war.
The usual ritual of buying new clothes, for example, with some families planning outfits weeks in advance, has become more complicated.
Iran’s attacks have hit shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor for goods entering the Gulf. Clothes that were supposed to be dispatched for delivery are stuck on ships, forcing shoppers to turn to whatever is available locally.
This last-minute shift to in-store shopping is turning up in government statistics. Saudi point-of-sale transactions rose 11% to 16.1 billion riyals ($4.3 billion) in the week ending Mar.7 compared to the previous week, according to the Saudi Central Bank, while spending on clothing and apparel jumped 32% to 2.5 billion riyals.
Social media is filled with posts complaining about delayed orders from fast-fashion platforms like Shein, with viral videos joking about Eid outfits “sitting at the bottom of the Strait of Hormuz.” Shein didn’t respond to a request for comment.