Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — Point-of-sale (POS) data showed steady economic activity across Saudi Arabia during the period from Jan. 11 to 17, with more than 236 million transactions valued at SR4.0 billion, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Restaurants and cafés led activity in the hospitality sector, recording 58.76 million transactions worth SR1.85 billion, while bakeries and confectionery outlets registered 7.33 million transactions valued at SR281.5 million.
Hotel-related transactions totaled 1.03 million, with a value of SR455.7 million, while food and beverage purchases reached 52.21 million transactions worth SR2.04 billion.
Retail spending remained strong, with clothing and accessories recording 10.83 million transactions valued at SR1.23 billion.
Electronics and electrical appliances accounted for 1.84 million transactions worth SR187.0 million, while furniture and home supplies reached 2.90 million transactions valued at SR489.2 million. Jewelry purchases totaled SR406.0 million from 307,000 transactions.
Professional and business services recorded 13.47 million transactions worth SR820.2 million, while building and construction materials accounted for 2.62 million transactions valued at SR409.9 million. Healthcare services saw 9.83 million transactions worth SR823.6 million, and culture and entertainment activities totaled 3.87 million transactions valued at SR365.4 million.
Fuel station spending reached 17.21 million transactions worth SR1.00 billion, while transportation services recorded 6.02 million transactions valued at SR944.1 million. Other activities accounted for 40.17 million transactions worth SR2.26 billion.
Regionally, Riyadh recorded the highest activity with 74.12 million transactions valued at SR4.74 billion, followed by Jeddah with 28.94 million transactions worth SR2.03 billion. Makkah recorded 10.09 million transactions valued at SR628.5 million, while Madinah saw 9.85 million transactions worth SR614.9 million.
In the Eastern Province, Dammam logged 9.48 million transactions valued at SR673.2 million, and Khobar recorded 4.98 million transactions worth SR400.2 million. Transactions across other cities totaled 26.12 million operations valued at SR1.09 billion, SPA said.
