$3.78 Billion Spent by Consumers in Saudi Arabia via Point-of-Sale Terminals in a Week

Arabic - Weekly consumer spending in Saudi Arabia, as recorded through point-of-sale (POS) transactions, declined by approximately 2.8 percent during the period from August 9 to 15 compared with the previous week, while spending in the education sector surged by more than 62 percent ahead of the start of the new academic year.

According to the weekly report issued by the Saudi Central Bank, POS sales in the Kingdom reached $3.78 billion (SAR 14.19 billion) last week, compared with $3.89 billion in the week ending August 8, 2026.

The number of POS transactions last week fell by approximately 1.5 percent to 249.68 million, down from 253.42 million in the preceding week.

Food and beverages topped POS spending categories in the Kingdom last week, with SAR 2.20 billion spent across 58.09 million transactions, followed by the restaurants and cafes sector, which recorded spending of SAR 1.82 billion through 60.24 million transactions.

Consumer spending in the clothing and accessories sector reached SAR 1.24 billion last week through 10.53 million transactions, followed by the transportation sector, which saw POS transactions totaling SAR 1.06 billion across 7.13 million transactions.

Fuel stations recorded 18.08 million POS transactions worth SAR 1.02 billion last week, while the health sector saw 9.8 million transactions valued at SAR 846.03 million.

The week ending August 15 witnessed a notable rise in POS transactions in the education sector in the Kingdom with the start of the new academic year, as sales value jumped 62.7 percent to SAR 446.08 million, while the number of transactions increased by approximately 13.5 percent to 160,000.

Spending on books and office supplies also rose by approximately 7.3 percent to SAR 119.18 million, with the number of transactions in this sector increasing by 6.8 percent to 780,000.

Last week recorded 294,000 POS transactions in the jewelry sector worth SAR 320.01 million, and 5.07 million transactions in the telecommunications sector valued at SAR 179.13 million.