Latest news with #POSTransactions
Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Education spending drives Saudi POS transactions to $3.16bn
RIYADH: Education spending in Saudi Arabia increased by 3.6 percent in the week ending July 26, driving total point-of-sale transactions to SR11.87 billion ($3.16 billion), even as most other sectors saw declines. Total POS value remained above the $3 billion mark for the fifth consecutive week despite a 2.7 percent weekly drop, underscoring the resilience of consumer activity across the Kingdom, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA. The education sector recorded SR111.18 million in transaction value, with the number of transactions slipping 4.1 percent to 140,000, while overall POS transactions across all sectors declined 2.9 percent to 206.46 million. The hotels sector saw a 1.3 percent increase to SR291.07 million. On July 29, the Saudi Cabinet approved the new statistics law, enhancing the Kingdom's POS reporting with more detailed retail market insights. This update introduces refined subcategories in POS data, improving transparency and supporting data-driven decision-making in line with Vision 2030. According to SAMA's bulletin, the subcategory of books and stationery saw the largest decrease, dropping by 5.8 percent to SR98.11 million. Spending on airlines ranked next, dropping 5.6 percent to SR65.20 million. Food and beverages, the sector with the biggest share of total POS value, recorded a 1.8 percent decrease to SR1.70 billion, while the restaurants and cafes sector saw a 2.4 percent decrease, totaling SR1.55 billion and claiming the second-biggest share of this week's POS. Spending on transportation ranked third despite a 2.2 percent decline to SR945.76 million. The top three categories accounted for approximately 35.3 percent of the week's total spending, amounting to SR4.19 billion. The smallest decline was seen in spending on freight transport, postal and courier services which decreased by 0.9 percent to SR36.13 million, followed by expenditure on telecommunication, which saw a 1 percent dip to SR131.86 million. Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.1 billion, a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous week. Jeddah followed closely with a 3.1 percent dip to SR1.70 billion, while Dammam ranked third, down 2.8 percent to SR566.81 million. Al-Jubail saw the smallest increase, inching up 0.6 percent to SR123.04 million, followed by Al-Baha with a 0.7 percent increase to SR76.12 million. Hail recorded 3.54 million deals in transaction volume, down 3.2 percent from the previous week, while Tabuk reached 3.93 million transactions, dropping 4.3 percent.
Arab News
18-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi POS spending stabilizes at $2.96bn despite post-Eid sectoral declines: SAMA
RIYADH: Saudi consumer spending via point-of-sale terminals remained resilient at SR11.11 billion ($2.96 billion) in the week ending June 14, even as transactions declined across all major sectors, official data showed. The latest weekly report from the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, showed that POS transaction values fell 21.3 percent from the previous week, while the number of transactions dropped 10.7 percent to 203.78 million. The prior week, ending June 7, saw a spending peak of SR14.12 billion, driven by elevated Eid Al-Adha holiday consumption. The contraction in weekly spending comes amid normalization following the Eid surge, but underlying consumer momentum remains intact — supported by Vision 2030 reforms aimed at digitizing payments and promoting a cashless economy. According to the SAMA report, spending in restaurants and cafes accounted for the largest share of POS transactions at SR1.80 billion, though it saw a 12.4 percent decline from the previous week. The food and beverage category remained another hotspot for POS activity, with transactions amounting to SR1.72 billion, also marking a decline of 18.7 percent. Transactions in the miscellaneous goods and services category dropped 27.8 percent, reaching SR1.27 billion. Spending at gas stations declined 6 percent week on week to SR857.45 million, while transactions in the clothing and footwear category fell 51.4 percent to SR655.95 million. Affirming the steady momentum of infrastructure development in the Kingdom, POS spending in the construction sector stood at SR242.10 million, registering a marginal decline of 2.6 percent. Geographically, Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, led POS transactions, recording SR3.58 billion. However, transaction values in the city declined by 22.2 percent compared to the previous week. Jeddah followed with a 14.3 percent decrease to SR1.59 billion, while Dammam came third with transactions totaling SR526.12 million. Hail experienced the most significant decline in spending, dropping 28.3 percent to SR182.14 million, followed by Tabuk, which saw a 27.5 percent reduction to SR197.60 million. POS spending in Makkah declined 4.9 percent to SR517.62 million. In Madinah, transactions stood at SR457.70 million, reflecting a 22.7 percent weekly decline. In Alkhobar, the value of transactions amounted to SR311.51 million, a drop of 2.19 percent, while Abha registered SR154.01 million in POS value, marking a 21.4 percent decline. The continued momentum in POS activity underscores Saudi Arabia's steady transition toward a cashless economy, in alignment with one of the core objectives of the Financial Sector Development Program under Vision 2030.
Arab News
21-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Jewelry spending up 13% in Saudi Arabia as weekly POS stays above $3.2bn: SAMA
RIYADH: Jewelry spending in Saudi Arabia rose by 13.2 percent between May 11 and 17 compared to the previous week, adding SR330.4 million ($88 million) to point-of-sale transactions during this period. The latest data from Saudi Arabia's central bank, SAMA, revealed that it was one of only two sectors to record growth during the period, with education also posting an increase of 1.4 percent to SR164.6 million. The Kingdom's overall POS transactions saw a 5.5 percent dip to SR12.3 billion in the seven-day period, driven by decreased spending across most of the sectors. Hotels spending saw the biggest drop, dipping by 18.1 percent to SR218.2 million. Clothing and footwear expenditure followed, falling by 10.4 percent to SR688.2 million, while recreation and culture saw a 9.3 percent decrease, totaling SR229.4 million. The smallest expenditure drop was in spending on construction and building material and gas stations, down by 1.7 percent each to SR330.1 million and SR929.7 million, respectively. The health sector declined by 4.8 percent to SR790.1 million, while public utilities dropped 4.3 percent to SR47 million. Electronics followed the trend, dropping 4.5 percent to SR1653.8 million, and furniture edging down by 3.7 percent to SR261.8 million. The telecommunication sector dropped by 5.5 percent in transaction value to SR98.3 million. Food and beverage spending decreased by 4.7 percent to SR1.8 billion, accounting for the largest share of the week's POS. Restaurants and cafes accounted for the second-biggest share at SR1.7 billion, followed by miscellaneous goods and services at SR1.5 billion. The top three categories accounted for 41.1 percent of the week's total spending, amounting to SR5 billion. Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with expenditure in the capital reaching SR4.5 billion — a 3.4 percent decrease from the previous week. Jeddah followed with a 7 percent dip to SR1.7 billion, while Dammam ranked third, down 5.7 percent to SR640.5 million. Makkah saw the biggest decrease, inching down 20.6 percent to SR393.3 million, followed by Abha with a 9.7 percent downtick to SR153.5 million. In transaction volume, Hail recorded 3.7 million deals, down 2 percent, while Tabuk reached 4.7 million transactions, up by 0.2 percent.
