During the initial week of Ramadan (March 10-16), Saudi consumers exhibited robust spending, amounting to SR11.68 billion across various sectors, as reported by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).
The weekly bulletin from SAMA highlights a staggering 168.6 million point-of-sale transactions during this period. Notably, transactions in clothing and shoes accounted for 6.28 million, totaling SR914.9 million, while construction materials transactions stood at 1.52 million, valued at SR307.6 million.
Education transactions reached 107,000, amounting to SR140.1 million, and electronic/electrical devices transactions totaled 1.17 million, valued at SR224 million. Gas station transactions amounted to 13.96 million, with a value of SR771.9 million, while healthcare transactions reached 7.25 million, totaling SR693.5 million.
Furniture transactions amounted to 1.35 million, valued at SR314.3 million, and hotel transactions stood at 467,000, worth SR271.3 million. Public utilities transactions reached 1.27 million, totaling SR85.5 million, while jewelry transactions amounted to 167,000, valued at SR189.1 million.
Miscellaneous goods and services transactions stood at 20.18 million, totaling SR1.39 billion, and entertainment/culture transactions amounted to 2.07 million, valued at SR114.1 million, as per the report.
Moreover, transactions in restaurants and cafes accounted for 36.43 million, totaling SR1.23 billion, while food and beverages transactions reached 45.81 million, valued at SR2.26 billion. Communications transactions stood at 860,000, amounting to SR99 million, and transportation transactions totaled 2.56 million, worth SR673.5 million. Other transactions reached 27.16 million, totaling SR1.90 billion.
At the city level, Riyadh witnessed 51.83 million transactions, totaling SR3.88 billion, followed by Makkah with 7.92 million transactions worth SR632 million. Madinah recorded 7.13 million transactions, valued at SR460.2 million, while Tabuk saw 3.72 million transactions worth SR218.3 million. Hail, Abha, Buraidah, AlKhobar, Dammam, and Jeddah also contributed significantly to the overall spending during the first week of Ramadan.
