From June 30 to July 6, Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale spending climbed by 7.7 percent to SR13.2 billion ($3.51 billion), with hotel payments leading the increase, according to government figures.
According to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), the transaction value in this sector increased by 17.9% to SR259.7 million, albeit accounting for only 0.39 percent of overall payment volume.
POS spending in the Kingdom rebounded in the week beginning June 23, after falling to SR8.34 billion in the preceding seven days, coinciding with the Eid al-Adha holiday season.

POS spending on public utilities increased the least this week, by 3.2 percent, to SR74.7 million.
Gas stations saw the second-smallest increase in POS transaction value, rising by 4.2% to SR869.6 million. Spending on electronics and electric gadgets saw the third-smallest increase, up 4.3 percent to SR229.9 million.

According to Saudi economist Talat Hafiz, Saudis tend to spend less on Hajj compared to normal days when they visit shopping malls and restaurants for fun. SAMA data for the week of June 30 shows that education spending increased by 14.1% to SR113 million, the second-highest increase from the previous week. Miscellaneous goods and services spending ranked third, accounting for the third-largest part of the POS, with a 10.1 percent increase to SR1.76 billion.

Saudi spending on food and beverages accounted for the largest portion of the POS, with an 8.8 percent increase to SR2.05 billion from SR1.88 billion the previous week. Restaurant and café spending totalled SR1.96 billion, representing the second-largest proportion with a 9% increase from the previous week.

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