RIYADH: According to official figures, the week before Ramadan saw a 34.7 percent increase in consumer expenditure in Saudi Arabia, reaching SR17.5 billion ($4.6 billion), driven by a rise in food purchases and retail activity. With 231.3 million transactions between February 23 and March 1, the Saudi Central Bank, or SAMA, released its most recent point-of-sale transaction data, which showed a dramatic rise in spending throughout the majority of the economy.
Due to a seasonal increase in demand as Saudis get ready for Ramadan, which is marked by substantial daily iftar and suhoor meals, the food and beverage industry had the biggest increase, with expenditure rising 74.9 percent week over week to SR3.3 billion. Next in line was public utility spending, which increased by 55.9 percent to SR81.5 million. Furniture spending also saw a significant increase, rising 46% to SR524.5 million.
The education sector was one of the two sectors that saw negative change during this time, according to the most recent POS transactions bulletin. Hotel spending decreased by 0.5 percent to SR365 million, while education spending dropped 33.6 percent to SR82 million. Spending on apparel and footwear witnessed a 43.9 percent increase in transaction value to SR1.2 billion, with the number of deals jumping by 30.8 percent to 8.5 million.
Additionally, spending on telecommunications increased by 42.9 percent to SR146.9 million, while spending for culture and recreation increased by 25.4 percent to SR338.1 million. Similarly, expenditure on jewelry registered an increase of 27.2 percent to SR334.2 million. After that, spending on cafés and restaurants increased by 10.5% to SR2.1 billion. With a 36.9 percent increase, miscellaneous goods and services made up the second-largest POS share, totaling SR2.1 billion.
Also Read:
Funding For MENA Startups Approaches $500 Million Per Month: Report
