Consumer spending rises to SAR 121.5B in October

Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia increased by 10% to SAR 121.5 billion in October 2024 from about SAR 110 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 55.7 billion in October.

The data showed that 923.1 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 nearly 4% YoY to about SAR 47.5 billion in October.

These withdrawals were processed through 15,200 ATMs in 126.6 million transactions.

E-commerce sales through Mada cards climbed 37% YoY to SAR 18.3 billion in October.

According to monthly data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), these sales were made through 100.9 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.