Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia grew 8 percent to SAR 115.4 billion ($30.76 billion) in August 2023, from nearly SAR 107.1 billion during the same month last year, Argaam reported.
Consumer spending includes total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions and e-commerce sales through “Mada”.
POS transactions rose 10 percent year-on-year (YoY) to roughly SAR 54.6 billion in August. Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) data showed 791.7 million transactions were processed through 1.69 million POS devices during the same month.
POS transactions represent what consumers spend using their ATM and credit cards in shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, etc.
Cash withdrawals from ATMs rose about 0.5 percent YoY to nearly SAR 46.4 billion in August. These withdrawals were processed from 16,100 ATMs through 129.1 million transactions.
E-commerce sales through Mada cards increased 27 percent YoY to SAR 14.4 billion in August, marking the highest-ever sales value.
According to SAMA’s monthly bulletin, these sales were made through 76.3 million transactions.
E-commerce sales include Mada card payment and purchase transactions through shopping websites and online applications, but do not include transactions made through Visa, MasterCard and other credit cards.
