RIYADH: According to central bank data, Saudis spent SR247.2 million ($65.8 million) on electronics between September 15 and 21, an increase of 18.3 percent from the previous week. According to SAMA’s weekly point-of-sale bulletin, expenditure in the hotel industry increased as well, totalling SR292.4 million, or an 18.2 percent weekly rise.
SR1.77 billion, or the largest portion of the POS, went to the restaurant and cafe industry. This was followed by SR1.67 billion for food and beverages and SR1.45 billion for other goods and services.
A total of SR4.9 billion of this week’s value was spent in the top three categories. The total value of point-of-sale (POS) transactions fell for a third consecutive week, totalling SR11.9 billion, or 1.9 percent less than the previous seven days.
With a total of SR127.1 million in transactions, the most recent data revealed that the education sector’s spending was still leading the autumn, with the largest fall at 23 percent.
This industry has been declining for more than a month after rising for four weeks in a row, beginning on August 18 to mark the beginning of the school year.
The second-largest decline in spending occurred in the first week of September, with public utility spending falling by 10.2 percent to SR49.1 million.
With a 9.5 percent negative decrease, spending on food and drink saw the third-biggest decline.
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