Consumer spending rises to SAR 116B in September

An ATM machine

Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia increased by nearly 9% to SAR 116 billion in September 2024 from about SAR 106.6 billion in the same month last year.

Consumer spending in the Kingdom represents total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions, and e-commerce via Mada cards.

POS transactions saw a 9% year-on-year (YoY) rise to around SAR 54.9 billion in September.

The data showed that 885.6 million transactions were processed through 1.9 million POS terminals during the same period.

POS transactions represent the expenditures made by consumers using their ATM cards and credit cards at shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, and other retail outlets.

Cash withdrawals from ATMs rose by 3% YoY to about SAR 43.7 billion in September.

These withdrawals were processed through 15,400 ATMs in 118.6 million transactions.

E-commerce sales through Mada cards climbed 26% YoY to SAR 17.5 billion in September.

According to monthly data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), these sales were made through 98.2 million transactions.

Online sales include transactions processed through Mada cards for payments and purchases made via online shopping and applications. However, these do not include transactions conducted using Visa, Mastercard, or other credit cards.