With the (first) oil-boom, a mass consumer society rapidly developed in Saudi Arabia. This transition did not take place unnoticed, but it was never a subject of scholarly investigation. Inspired by recent literature in Consumption Studies, this paper explores the political-economy that shaped Saudi consumer society. I argue, contrary to the conventional wisdom in public official pronouncements and research, that Saudi economy was hardly free-market oriented. Put differently, markets were never an unmediated meeting place between consumers and producers/sellers of commodities, as the notion of free-market implies. Instead, multiple forms of state, social, and cultural regulation were put in place to make sure that markets conformed to existing socio-cultural norms. The paper examines official statements, five-year plans and bureaucratic documents, state sponsored publications and the press to outline such regulation. It shows how regulation localized a new and mostly imported "world of goods.” Localization through regulation meant developing mechanisms to evaluate the religious permissibility of use for new commodities. It also meant banning some commodities, and verifying the halal status of others. Regulation further meant new censorship of knowledge and media, including supervision of advertisements. Shopping places were officially and semi-officially (by a morality police) monitored to ensure compatibility with religious law and practice such as closing for the prayer. Public places of leisure were also monitored or discouraged, for example, no cinema was allowed. Most significant, women’s access to markets was restricted by not allowing them to drive and by making it socially uncomfortable for them to shop on their own. Interaction between the sexes in new shopping or leisure environments was strictly forbidden. The emerging consumer society of Saudi Arabia, therefore, was localized by being made to support, indeed to strengthen, an earlier (real or imagined) way-of-life.