Consumer spending rises 5% to SAR 116.7B in November

Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia increased by nearly 5% to SAR 116.7 billion in November 2024 from almost SAR 111.5 billion in the same month last year.

Consumer spending in the Kingdom represents total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions, and e-commerce via Mada cards.

POS transactions saw an 8% year-on-year (YoY) rise to around SAR 56.5 billion in November.

The data showed that 901.8 million transactions were processed through 1.95 million POS terminals during the same month.

POS transactions represent the expenditures made by consumers using their ATM cards and credit cards at shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, and other retail outlets.

Cash withdrawals from ATMs rose by 6% YoY to about SAR 42.8 billion in November.

These withdrawals were processed through 15,100 ATMs in 117.6 million transactions.

E-commerce sales through Mada cards climbed 29% YoY to SAR 17.4 billion in November.

According to monthly data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), these sales were made through 98.8 million transactions.

Online sales include transactions processed through Mada cards for payments and purchases made via online shopping and applications. However, these do not include transactions conducted using Visa, Mastercard, or other credit cards.