Saudi POS spending surges 33% to SR16.3 billion in one week

RIYADH — Point-of-sale (POS) spending in Saudi Arabia surged by about 33 percent week on week to SR16.31 billion during the period from July 26 to Aug. 1, with 267.11 million transactions recorded across the Kingdom, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). According to SAMA’s weekly POS bulletin, the food and beverages sector recorded the highest spending at SR2.692 billion, followed by other sectors at SR2.629 billion and restaurants and cafés at SR2.044 billion. In hospitlaity and food sevices, the restaurants and cafés sector registered 63.676 million transactions valued at SR2.044 billion, while bakeries and confectioneries recorded 6.758 million transactions worth SR285.481 million. The hotel sector recorded 1.106 million transactions valued at SR367.627 million, while the food and beverages sector recorded 60.711 million transactions worth SR2.692 billion. In retail, the clothing and accessories sector recorded 11.838 million transactions worth SR1.409 billion, while the culture and entertainment sector recorded 4.408 million transactions valued at SR412.907 million. The jewelry sector recorded 359,000 transactions worth SR418.648 million, while the telecommunications sector recorded 5.704 million transactions valued at SR246.158 million. The education sector registered 139,000 transactions worth SR177.832 million. The professional and business services sector recorded 17.207 million transactions worth SR968.317 million, while the electronics and electrical appliances sector recorded 2.308 million transactions valued at SR221.602 million. The furniture and home furnishings sector registered 3.128 million transactions worth SR516.103 million, while building materials and construction recorded 3.200 million transactions valued at SR431.544 million. The utilities and public services sector recorded 891,000 transactions worth SR64.022 million, while fuel stations registered 18.987 million transactions valued at SR1.118 billion. Laundry services recorded 3.340 million transactions worth SR70.403 million, while other sectors accounted for 44.496 million transactions valued at SR2.629 billion. By city, Riyadh led with 82.883 million POS transactions worth SR5.230 billion, followed by Makkah with 10.325 million transactions worth SR648.774 million and Madinah with 10.304 million transactions valued at SR649.022 million. Tabuk recorded 5.056 million transactions worth SR293.493 million, Hail recorded 4.834 million transactions worth SR287.128 million, Abha recorded 5.004 million transactions valued at SR295.877 million, and Buraidah recorded 4.834 million transactions worth SR287.128 million. Elsewhere, Al Khobar recorded 4.939 million transactions worth SR408.350 million, Dammam recorded 9.595 million transactions valued at SR725.726 million, Jeddah recorded 29.798 million transactions worth SR2.183 billion, while other cities accounted for 31.208 million transactions valued at SR1.361 billion.