A month of quiet, then a month of sales.
Belgium's sales period in 2027 runs in winter from Saturday 2 January to Sunday 31 January, and in summer from Thursday 1 July to Saturday 31 July. Normally the winter sales start on 3 January, but in 2027 that is a Sunday, so they move one day earlier. Unlike most EU countries, Belgium writes these periods into law.
For clothing, leather goods and shoes there is also a freeze in the month before: no announced discounts and no discount vouchers. In winter it runs from 2 December 2026 to 1 January 2027. The Belgian rules apply to businesses selling to Belgian consumers; the Belgian economy ministry makes no distinction between a shop and a web shop.
Every date in 2027
| What | Winter 2027 | Summer 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze (clothing, leather goods, shoes) | Wednesday 2 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027 | Tuesday 1 to Wednesday 30 June 2027 |
| Sales start | Saturday 2 January 2027 | Thursday 1 July 2027 |
| Sales end | Sunday 31 January 2027 | Saturday 31 July 2027 |
| Why these dates | 3 January 2027 is a Sunday, so one day earlier | 1 July 2027 is a Thursday, so the normal date |
The rule sits in Belgium's Code of Economic Law: twice a year a business may sell under the name "solden" (Dutch), "soldes" (French) or an equivalent, in these two periods. If the start day is a Sunday, everything moves a day earlier, the freeze included.
What Belgian law asks during the sales
The Belgian economy ministry lists the conditions:
- A real discountThe previous price is the lowest price you applied in the previous 30 days, in the same sales channel. Your store and your web shop each have their own reference price. This mirrors the EU Omnibus rule that applies everywhere in the Union.
- Existing stockOnly goods you offered for sale at least 30 days before the start and that are still in stock at the start may go on sale. Stock bought in especially for the sales may not.
- ProofYou must be able to show the discount if the Economic Inspectorate asks.
The EU rules on discounts apply all year, outside the sales too; see our article on Black Friday 2026 in Europe, which falls just before the freeze.
- Winter freeze begins
- Winter freeze ends
- Winter sales start (3 January is a Sunday)
- Last day of winter sales
- Summer freeze begins
- Summer freeze ends
- Summer sales start
- Last day of summer sales
- Pre-sales freeze
- Sales start
- Sales end
The freeze applies to clothing, leather goods and shoes: no announced price reductions and no discount vouchers.
The freeze does not cover everything
Only clothing, leather goods and shoes. A shop selling furniture, electronics or cosmetics may run discounts in December, within the EU rules on reference prices.
The freeze, explained
In the month before each sales period, for clothing, leather goods and shoes you may not announce price reductions that take effect in that month, nor hand out vouchers usable then. The aim is that the sales are real sales, not the tail of a month of offers.
Allowed during the freeze: selling at normal prices, discounting products outside the three sectors, preparing your sales. Not allowed for the three sectors: "20 percent off now" on your home page, a discount code in your newsletter, a members-only "pre-sale" at a lower price.
What it means for your business
A fashion brand abroad selling to Belgian consumers
When you announce discounts to Belgian consumers, the Belgian rules apply. A Dutch or French fashion shop running a December campaign aimed at Belgian buyers runs into the freeze. Geo-target your December promotions away from Belgium, or keep them outside clothing, shoes and leather; Christmas marketing ideas that need no discount help here.
A shop outside fashion
Furniture, electronics, cosmetics or books fall outside the freeze. You may run December offers and join the January sales or not. The reference price rule always applies.
An agency planning campaigns
Plan fashion clients' campaigns around two hard dates: 1 December as the last day for offers, 2 January as the first day of the sales. Keep them in a content calendar template, or see them in our marketing calendar 2027.
Language: Dutch and French
Belgium has two main shopping languages. North of the language border buyers search for "solden", south of it for "soldes", and Brussels uses both. A sales page in English only will be found by few. A multilingual website with a sales page in each language is the base.
Your shop ready for 2 January
- Early November: choose what goes on saleOnly products you have sold for at least 30 days and that are in stock on 2 January.
- Before 2 December: end offers in the frozen sectorsBlack Friday and Cyber Monday are fine, but end by 1 December for Belgian buyers.
- December: build your sales pageA fixed page, in Dutch and French, with filters for size and in-stock.
- 1 January: set pricesDiscount against the lowest price of the previous 30 days, per channel.
- January: adjustCheck weekly what sells; deepening the discount within the same campaign is allowed.
Being found on "solden" and "soldes"
On 2 January people search for your brand plus "solden" or "soldes", a product plus the word, and the word plus a city. What works:
- A fixed sales pageat a fixed address per language, left up after the sales with the next dates. It keeps building its place in Google.
- Filters that are rightSize, colour and in-stock are what a sales buyer uses.
- Fast on a phoneTest your sales page with the website speed test.
- Ads per weekThe first week and the last weekend are the busiest. Budget them with the Google Ads budget calculator.
Black Friday and the Belgian sales side by side
- Legal period
- Black FridayNo, you choose the days
- Belgian salesYes, 2 to 31 January and 1 to 31 July 2027
- Name
- Black FridayFree to choose
- Belgian salesSales (solden, soldes) or similar only in the sales period
- Reference price
- Black FridayLowest price of the previous 30 days
- Belgian salesLowest price of the previous 30 days
- Stock condition
- Black FridayNone specific
- Belgian salesOn sale at least 30 days before and in stock at the start
- Clothing, shoes, leather
- Black FridayUntil 1 December 2026 at the latest
- Belgian salesOnly from 2 January 2027, after the freeze
Black Friday is an offer you choose. The Belgian sales are a legal framework with its own conditions.
A worked example
A pair of shoes costs EUR 120 all autumn. On Black Friday, 27 November, you sell it at EUR 96, and from 2 December back at EUR 120. On 2 January you want to show "30 percent off". The lowest price of the previous 30 days is EUR 120, because the Black Friday price falls outside those 30 days: 30 percent off gives EUR 84, and you may show that. Had you kept the Black Friday price until 5 December, EUR 96 would have been the reference and you could show only 12.5 percent. For shoes that was not allowed anyway: after 1 December the freeze applies.
Check margin too. A product that sells for EUR 100 with EUR 50 gross margin sells at EUR 70 with 30 percent off: EUR 20 is left for shipping, returns and ads, less than half of what you normally earn. Work it out per product with the margin calculator.
After the sales: what to measure
In February, look at what the sales brought: revenue and margin per product, the share of new customers, returns. People who bought from you for the first time in the sales are your best audience for spring; send them a good email, see how to write a newsletter. If your shop underperforms outside the sales, start with why is my online store not selling. And if you are choosing a platform for the Belgian market, compare Wix vs Shopify.
Mistakes that lead to a finding
A discount against a list price instead of last month's lowest price. Products bought in especially for the sales. A clothing discount code that already works in December. A "sales price" still on your site in February. And refusing returns in the sales, while the right of withdrawal applies to online purchases as always, with the EU withdrawal button.
How VBS prepares your sales
From Ghent we build online shops with a fixed sales page per language, filters for size and stock, and prices that follow the rules. For the sales weeks we set up your Google Ads and social media with the freeze dates in the plan. Our content calendar template already holds the freeze and the start of the sales, filled in for a web shop shipping to four countries. Book a call.