Prime Highlights:
- Saudi POS transactions in the week totaled SR 11.87 billion, while education expenditure was being driven.
- The Cabinet resolved to sanction a new statute on statistics to enhance data quality and transparency within the economy.
Key Fact:
- Whereas 2.9% decreased in overall transactions, POS value remained at SR 11.8 billion for the fifth week in a row.
- Expenditure in education increased by 3.6%, amounting to SR 111.18 million, while transaction volume decreased.
Key Background
Saudi Arabia’s consumer economy remained robust during the week to July 26 as the combined point-of-sale (POS) transactions recorded SR 11.87 billion (or approximately $3.16 billion). It was the fifth consecutive week when the expenditure had been over SR 11 billion, reflecting unrelenting demand as combined volume of transactions of 206.46 million transactions fell by 2.9%.
The education sector was the key driving force behind this surge. While education transactions fell 4.1% to approximately 140,000, the value rose 3.6% to SR 111.18 million. The surge is probably driven by higher back-to-school expenditures, including school fees and stationery, due to the effect of seasonality on consumption.
The other groups were not so strong. Stationery and book spending decreased by 5.8% to SR 98.11 million, and air ticketing fell by 5.6% to SR 65.20 million. The largest group, food and beverages, fell by 1.8% to SR 1.70 billion, and restaurant and cafe spending fell by 2.4% to SR 1.55 billion. Vehicle maintenance and transport costs fell by 2.2% to SR 945.76 million, showing restrained activity across the majority of parts of normal life.
Domestically, Riyadh topped the POS transaction table with a massive SR 4.1 billion, followed by Jeddah at SR 1.70 billion and Dammam at SR 566.81 million. The major cities recorded marginal declines, while minor cities such as Al-Jubail and Al-Baha recorded modest increases of 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
In a landmark policy decision, the Saudi Cabinet sanctioned a revised law on statistics that will improve data gathering. This involves refining retail classification systems and associated subcategory reporting. All these reforms are in line with Vision 2030’s vision of evidence-based governance and economic diversification to serve the government and investors better to conduct more research on consumer behavior.
