In Saudi Arabia, education spending soared by 91.5% to SR220.76 million ($58.8 million) as students returned to school following the midyear break. This sector was the only one to show positive growth, with transactions increasing by 60% to 153,000, according to the latest point-of-sale (POS) transactions report.
Previously, the education sector had seen a 44.4% decline in transaction value, reaching SR115.2 million from January 5 to 11, before its recent recovery. Overall, POS transactions in the kingdom fell by 12.1%, totaling SR11.77 billion compared to SR13.4 billion the previous week, as other sectors experienced reduced spending.
Clothing and footwear spending decreased sharply by 27.5% to SR663.16 million. Hotel expenditures dropped 19.9% to SR324.45 million, and recreation and culture saw a 19.7% decline to SR221.8 million. Spending on food and beverages fell by 9.2% to SR1.73 billion, still holding the largest share of total POS value. Restaurants and cafes followed, with an 18% decrease to SR1.73 billion.
Miscellaneous goods and services accounted for the third-largest POS share, decreasing by 12.3% to SR1.42 billion. Combined, spending in the top three categories represented about 41.5% or SR4.8 billion of the week’s total value. The smallest decline was in construction materials, with a 2.1% dip, totaling SR340.1 million.
Transportation expenditures decreased by 2.6% to SR661.6 million, while public utilities spending fell by 6% to SR48.1 million. Riyadh led POS transactions, making up about 35.5% of the total, with spending reaching SR4.18 billion—a 9% drop from the previous week. Jeddah and Dammam followed, with declines of 12.5% and 7.1%, respectively.
Madinah experienced the largest spending decrease, dropping by 19.6% to SR471 million. Hail and Makkah also saw reductions, at 18.6% and 17%, respectively, reaching SR171.87 million and SR497.28 million. In terms of transaction numbers, Madinah and Makkah saw the largest decreases, with drops of 13.5% and 12.7% to 7.98 million and 8.18 million transactions, respectively.
From January 5 to 11, the Kingdom’s POS transactions declined, with the total number dropping by 3.7% to 216.5 million, and transaction values falling by 11.2% to SR13.4 billion. Telecommunications and transportation sectors contracted significantly, by 20.4% and 20.9%, respectively. Discretionary sectors like clothing and footwear also saw an 18.7% decrease in transaction value.
Conversely, the hotel sector was the only industry to exhibit growth, with a 12.5% rise in transaction numbers and a 1.1% increase in value. Riyadh and Jeddah, the largest markets, experienced transaction value declines of 10% and 7.8%, indicating a broader slowdown across major cities.