Spending in Al-Badai: all activities

Card spending in Al-Badai (البدائع) across 30 activities, from the point-of-sale statistics published by Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), monthly since January 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1445 AH). Official figures · match SAMA's published figures within rounding Coverage: cards only, ~57% of personal spending

Card spending in Al-Badai · week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH

14.1 SAR million

+20.8% against the same week last year · rank 54 of 60 cities · 0.1% of Saudi Arabia's spending this week

What this means for your decisionLast 3 months: Al-Badai +14.9% against +6.0% for Saudi Arabia, so the market here is growing faster than Saudi Arabia. Compare your shop's growth with your city's growth, not with Saudi Arabia's: if it is slower than the city, the gap comes from the shop, not the market.

SAR million per week · oldest on the left, newest on the right (in amber) · axis: Gregorian month, then Hijri month (Umm al-Qura). Highest week 19.6, lowest 11.7.

Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), weekly point-of-sale bulletins (value of transactions), latest published week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH. Attributed to SAMA; the analysis is ours.

Last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)

762SAR million, all spending · +14.9% in the last 3 months against last year · SAMA

15,712SAR per person per year: 12 months of spending ÷ 2022 Census population (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT))

48,474population · 2022 Census (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT))

Transactions in the same week

0.4million transactions · +15.2% against the same week last year

39.4SAR average transaction value (value ÷ number) · +4.8% against the same week last year

This week in the Spending Index newsletter, issue 2: what changed and why

Data coverage: these figures are card payments (point of sale) only: about 57% of personal spending in 2025; the rest is cash and does not appear here. Part of the growth is a shift from cash to cards, not new demand: in 2025, card payments in Saudi Arabia grew +5.8%, but including cash withdrawals the growth is +1.9%. Read the figures as a trend and a comparison between cities and activities, not as an absolute market size.

Interactive analysis for Al-Badai(Arabic)

Activities ranked

Each activity by its spending over the last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH), its growth over the last 3 months against the same months a year earlier, and its share of the city's spending. Source: SAMA (point of sale).

#	Activity	12 months, SAR million	3 months vs last year	Share of city
01	Groceries and food	192	+22.2%	25.2%
02	Other	130	+16.3%	17.1%
03	Fuel stations	122	+68.8%	16.0%
04	Restaurants and cafés	81	−5.4%	10.6%
05	Health	56	+17.7%	7.3%
06	Transport	32	+6.3%	4.2%
07	Building materials	32	−14.3%	4.2%
08	Pharmacies	29	+33.2%	3.8%
09	Bakeries and sweets	28	−17.2%	3.7%
10	Clothing and footwear	25	−9.9%	3.2%
11	Medical services	19	+9.5%	2.5%
12	Vehicle maintenance	17	+5.4%	2.2%
13	Professional services	14	−19.0%	1.9%
14	Recreation and culture	12	+0.7%	1.6%
15	Furniture and furnishings	12	+66.2%	1.5%
16	Vehicle trade	12	+1.1%	1.5%
17	Recreation	11	+0.5%	1.4%
18	Electronics	9	−3.8%	1.2%
19	Personal care	8	−9.7%	1.0%
20	Laundries	6	−0.1%	0.8%
21	Telecommunications	4	+0.4%	0.6%
22	Education	3	−3.0%	0.4%
23	Airlines	3	+23.9%	0.3%
24	Public utilities	2	+15.9%	0.3%
25	Books and stationery	1	+2.2%	0.2%
26	Hotels	1	+7.0%	0.1%
27	Car rental	1	+64.0%	0.1%
28	Other transport	0	+68.2%	0.0%
29	Freight and courier	0	—	0.0%

Detailed pages

Restaurants and cafés in Al-Badai Groceries and food in Al-Badai Bakeries and sweets in Al-Badai Total spending in Al-Badai

Growth is measured against the same months of the previous year. Part of the growth in card payments is a shift from cash, not new demand. A business decision needs a field visit and your own figures.

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