During the first week of Ramadan, March 10 to 16, Saudi Arabia witnessed a significant increase in point-of-sale operations, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). The total number of operations reached 168.6 million, amounting to a value of SAR11.6 billion ($3.1 billion).
The number of operations surged significantly in multiple sectors including clothing and shoes, construction materials, gas and hospitality. Research reveals that spending more than doubles in Ramadan due to holiday preparations. The three weeks leading up to Ramadan and the third week of Ramadan are the most important for shoppers. During that time, online spending increases by around 67 percent.
Sectoral breakdown
In Saudi Arabia, point-of-sale operations in clothing and shoes reached 6.2 million with a value of SAR914.9 million. Meanwhile, the number of operations for construction materials stood at 1.5 million, with a value exceeding SAR300 million.
The number of point-of-sale operations in education reached 107,000, with a value of SAR140 million. Moreover, operations in electronic and electrical devices reached 1.17 million with a value of SAR224 million. When it comes to spending at gas stations, the number of operations reached 13.9 million, amounting to SAR771 million.
The hospitality sector recorded the most spending with restaurants and cafes recording 36.4 million operations with a value of over SAR1.2 billion. Meanwhile, food and beverages reached 45.8 million point-of-sale operations with a value exceeding SAR2.2 billion.
Read: Building a digital capital: Lessons from Dubai’s success story
Regional breakdown
During the first week of Ramadan, point-of-sale operations surged across various cities in Saudi Arabia. The city that recorded the highest level of spending was Riyadh with 51.8 operations at a value of SAR3.8 billion. In second place comes Jeddah, with 20.2 million operations at a value of SAR1.6 billion. In Makkah, point-of-sale operations reached 7.9 million with a value of over SAR631 million. Following closely was Dammam, with total operations reaching over 6.9 million at a value of over SAR594 million.
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