Saudi Arabia’s Point-of-Sales Spending Drops by 6.9% in Third Week of May
In a recent report by the Saudi Central Bank, it was revealed that the Kingdom’s point-of-sales spending saw a 6.9 percent decline in the third week of May, totaling SR11.65 billion ($3.11 billion).
Impact on Different Sectors
The data showed that spending on beverages and food decreased by 9.3 percent, reaching SR1.77 billion, while transactions at restaurants and cafes dropped by 5.4 percent to SR1.73 billion. Spending on miscellaneous goods and services also declined by 7.1 percent, totaling SR1.44 billion.
Education and Telecommunications Sectors
Despite comprising only 1 percent of the overall spending, education recorded the largest decline at 23.2 percent, while the telecommunications sector saw a 10.1 percent drop in transaction value to SR95 million.
Regional Trends
Riyadh accounted for approximately 35 percent of the POS spending, with a total transaction value of SR4.04 billion. However, the city experienced a 5.4 percent decrease from the previous week. Jeddah followed closely, accounting for around 14 percent of the total spending.
City-Specific Declines
The cities of Hail and Tabouk witnessed the highest declines in POS spending, with decreases of 10.5 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively. Hail recorded transactions worth SR176 million, while Tabouk saw transactions amounting to SR221 million.