Prime Highlights
- Saudi Arabia’s weekly POS spending remained strong at over $3 billion despite a slight decrease compared to the previous week.
- Growth in digital payments continues to support the country’s move toward a modern and technology-driven economy in line with Vision 2030.
Key Facts
- Total POS spending reached SR13.07 billion, down 4.6% week-on-week, with 232.67 million transactions, a drop of 1.2%.
- Some sectors recorded increases, including vehicle and spare parts spending up 0.6%, and hotel spending rising 1.9%.
Background
Saudi Arabia’s consumer spending through point-of-sale transactions stayed robust during the week ending Nov. 15, remaining above the $3 billion level despite dips in several major sectors. According to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), point-of-sale spending reached SR13.07 billion ($3.48 billion), a 4.6 percent drop from the previous week. The number of transactions also fell slightly by 1.2 percent to 232.67 million.
Even with the weekly decline, some sectors showed improvement. Spending on vehicles and spare parts went up slightly by 0.6 percent to SR513.75 million. Hotel spending also increased by 1.9 percent to SR318.79 million. Fuel stations saw a small rise of 0.1 percent, reaching SR981.36 million.
Most other spending categories, however, reported decreases. Education posted the steepest weekly drop of 29.5 percent, falling to SR126.76 million. Furniture and home supplies followed with a 12.9 percent decrease to SR478.25 million. Spending on food and beverages, the category with the largest share, dropped 5.3 percent to SR1.97 billion.
Restaurants and cafes also declined by 1.6 percent to SR1.62 billion. Apparel and clothing spending slipped 4.1 percent but remained the third largest category with SR1.18 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s major cities showed similar trends. Riyadh, which accounted for the highest share of national spending, saw POS transactions fall 4.5 percent to SR4.68 billion. Jeddah saw spending fall by 5.5 percent to SR1.75 billion, while Dammam recorded a 5.9 percent drop to SR647.71 million.
SAMA’s weekly POS data continues to show how consumers are spending and highlights the growing use of digital payments across the country. The growth of digital payment systems is making financial services easier to access and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan for a modern, technology-focused economy.
