Consumer spending surges 11% to SAR 126.9B in January

Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia grew by 11% to SAR 126.9 billion in January 2025 from nearly SAR 114.2 billion a year earlier.

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

POS transactions saw an 8% year-on-year (YoY) rise to around SAR 58.2 billion in January.

Data showed that 938.5 million transactions were processed through more than two 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 almost 4% YoY to about SAR 47.8 billion in January.

These withdrawals were processed through 15,000 ATMs in 126.9 million transactions, while the number of credit cards issued reached 51.3 million.

E-commerce sales through Mada cards climbed 45% YoY to SAR 20.9 billion in January.

According to monthly data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), these sales were made through 111.4 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.