Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia increased 2 percent to SAR 104.6 billion ($27.88 billion) in July 2023, from nearly SAR 102.97 billion during the same month last year, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s SAMA monthly bulletin.
Consumer spending includes total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions and e-commerce sales through “Mada”, Argaam reported. POS transactions rose 8 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 49.35 billion in July.
Data showed 745.9 million transactions were processed through 1.64 million POS devices in July.
POS transactions represent what consumers spend using their ATM and credit cards in shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, etc.
Cash withdrawals from ATMs fell about 10% YoY to nearly SAR 42.38 billion. These withdrawals were processed from 16,100 ATMs through 121.1 million transactions.
E-commerce sales through Mada cards increased 26 percent YoY to SAR 12.9 billion in July.
According to SAMA’s monthly bulletin, these sales were made through 71 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.