Consumer spending surges 11% to SAR 141.3B in January

Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia grew by 11% to SAR 141.3 billion in January 2026 from nearly SAR 126.9 billion a year earlier, marking the highest level in 10 months.

Consumer spending represents total cash withdrawals, point-of-sale (POS) transactions, and e-commerce via Mada cards.

According to the Saudi Central Bank’s (SAMA) data, POS transactions saw an 9% year-on-year (YoY) rise to around SAR 63.7 billion in January.

Data showed that 1.05 billion transactions were processed through more than 2.4 million POS terminals during the same period.

POS transactions represent the expenditures made by consumers using their ATM cards and credit cards at shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, and other retail outlets.

Cash withdrawals from ATMs decline by almost 6% YoY to about SAR 45 billion in January.

These withdrawals were processed through 14,700 ATMs in 121.8 million transactions operated by local banks and the Saudi payments network, while the number of credit cards issued reached 64.8 million.

E-commerce sales through Mada cards climbed 56% YoY to SAR 32.6 billion in January.

According to data issued by SAMA, these sales were made through 177.7 million transactions.

Online sales include transactions processed through Mada cards for payments and purchases made via online shopping and applications. However, these do not include transactions conducted using Visa, Mastercard, or other credit cards.