Spending on groceries and food in Arar

Spending on groceries and food in Arar: SAR 622 million by card over the last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH). In the latest week (13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH): SAR 10.1 million. Last 3 months +1.0% against the same months last year; Saudi Arabia +16.2%. Arar ranks 25 of 60 cities, with 0.5% of Saudi Arabia over the last 3 months. Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Everything the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) publishes on card spending on groceries and food in Arar (عرعر), monthly since January 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1445 AH): size, growth, share of Saudi Arabia, seasons, and the effect of payday and Ramadan. Official figures · match SAMA’s published figures within rounding Coverage: cards only, ~57% of personal spending

Card spending on groceries and food in Arar · week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH

10.1 SAR million

the weekly series at this level starts 21 September 2025 (29 Rabi' al-Awwal 1447 AH), so there is no year-on-year weekly comparison yet · rank 26 of 59 cities in this activity · 0.5% of Saudi Arabia’s spending on it this week

What this means for your decisionLast 3 months: Groceries and food in Arar +1.0% against the same months last year, and groceries and food in Saudi Arabia +16.2%, and all spending in Arar +5.7%. So the activity here is growing more slowly than the same activity in Saudi Arabia, and is losing a share of the city’s spending. If your shop’s sales grew by less than +1.0% over the same months, the gap most likely comes from the shop, not from the market for groceries and food in Arar; if they grew by more, your shop is most likely gaining from its competitors. Follow the trend of the weekly bars below.

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 18.5, lowest 8.7.

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)

622SAR million · +1.0% in the last 3 months against last year (Saudi Arabia +16.2%) · SAMA

0.5%Arar’s share of Saudi Arabia’s spending on groceries and food over the last 3 months · SAMA

3,069SAR per person per year: 12 months of spending ÷ 2022 Census population (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT))

Transactions in the same week

0.4million transactions · no year-on-year weekly comparison yet

24.7SAR average transaction value (value ÷ number) · no year-on-year weekly comparison yet

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 Arar: merchant tools and forecasts(Arabic)

Monthly spending since January 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1445 AH)

Month	SAR million	vs same month last year
September 2025 (Rabi' al-Awwal – Rabi' al-Akhir 1447 AH)	50.5	−14.8%
October 2025 (Rabi' al-Akhir – Jumada al-Ula 1447 AH)	54.9	−14.1%
November 2025 (Jumada al-Ula – Jumada al-Akhirah 1447 AH)	48.8	−12.3%
December 2025 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1447 AH)	51.9	−7.9%
January 2026 (Rajab – Sha'ban 1447 AH)	52.7	−4.8%
February 2026 (Sha'ban – Ramadan 1447 AH)	53.3	−5.2%
March 2026 (Ramadan – Shawwal 1447 AH)	52.2	+0.1%
April 2026 (Shawwal – Dhu al-Qa'dah 1447 AH)	53.0	+12.9%
May 2026 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH)	52.5	−0.2%
June 2026 (Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 – Muharram 1448 AH)	48.9	−3.1%
July 2026 (Muharram – Safar 1448 AH)	52.2	+3.2%
August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)	51.4	+2.8%

Seasons in Arar

Highest months: March, October, February. Lowest: June, April (average of 2024–2025). Payday week +55.5% and Ramadan weeks +8.3% against ordinary weeks over the last 52 weeks.

Arar among Saudi cities

Arar ranks 25 of 60 cities for spending on groceries and food. Spending on groceries and food in Saudi Arabia as a whole: SAR 115,710 million over the last 12 months (+16.2% on last year): Spending on groceries and food in Saudi Arabia. Among 7 cities of similar size, Arar is number 6 for growth over the last 3 months; the fastest is Al-Mubarraz (+86.5%).

#	City	12 months, SAR million	3 months vs last year	SAR per person per year
1	Riyadh	34,346	+12.9%	4,907
2	Jeddah	12,603	+26.9%	3,394
3	Dammam	5,736	+17.3%	4,136
…
22	Yanbu	884	+27.5%	2,664
23	Muhayil	664	+14.9%	6,782
24	Al-Mubarraz	638	+86.5%	2,195
25	Arar	622	+1.0%	3,069
26	Dhahran	600	+16.9%	4,168
27	Al-Baha	584	+7.2%	6,455
28	Al-Rass	580	−2.1%	4,778

For planning

Plan stock and shifts around payday weeks, and prepare for Ramadan a month ahead. Monthly and weekly forecasts, and a comparison of your shop with the market, are in the interactive analysis(Arabic).

Other activities in Arar

Restaurants and cafés Bakeries and sweets Total spending All activities in Arar Groceries and food across Saudi Arabia

Source and method

Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Statistical Report (point of sale, value of transactions) and the weekly bulletins; data published for the public and attributed to it. We matched the portal figures with the bulletins (3,172 figures, average difference 0.001%). Population: 2022 Census (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT)). Growth is measured against the same months of the previous year to remove seasonal effects. The figures are card payments only, and part of their growth is a shift from cash, not new demand; see Data coverage above for the figures.