What we calculate

Cost of living in your region

Inputs: GASTAT: consumer prices by region and the 2023 household spending survey.

Formula in words: How many extra riyals the average household pays a month for the same purchases as in 2023 = its 2023 monthly spending in each division × (index now ÷ 100 − 1). The six-month forecast: three simple rules (prices unchanged, the pace of the last 12 months continues, and the midpoint of the two); each month the rule with the smallest error over the previous 36 months with known outcomes is chosen, and the range comes from its actual errors.

Releases: 29 September 2026 (18 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)

Retail index for commercial real estate(Arabic)

Inputs: SAMA: monthly point of sale by city and activity.

Formula in words: The index for a city in a month = 100 × retail spending that month ÷ the city’s own average monthly retail spending in 2024. Retail spending = total point-of-sale value in activities that occupy retail shops, without parent items so that spending is not counted twice. A movement indicator, not a property valuation.

Releases: version 1.0, 28 September 2026 (17 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)

Spending after inflation

Inputs: SAMA (point of sale) and GASTAT (consumer prices for the same region).

Formula in words: Real growth ≈ (1 + annual growth in spending value) ÷ (1 + annual change in the general consumer price index of the same region) − 1. The region = the sum of SAMA cities in it. Estimate: a monthly regional inflation rate applied to a week, and the consumer basket does not match the card-spending basket.

Releases: 29 September 2026 (18 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH), 30 September 2026 (19 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)

Next-week estimate(Arabic)

Inputs: SAMA: weekly point of sale, and the Umm al-Qura calendar.

Formula in words: Inside the Hijri seasons (Ramadan and the two Eids) we compare with the same season in previous years; outside them we extend the recent weeks. The range comes from the spread of the method’s last 26 errors. One week only, and only for series whose accuracy has been measured.

Releases: 30 September 2026 (19 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH), 30 September 2026 (19 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)

Calendar effects

Inputs: SAMA (weekly point of sale) and the Umm al-Qura calendar.

Formula in words: Average weekly spending in the occasion’s weeks ÷ the average of nearby ordinary weeks (no Ramadan, no Eid) − 1, for each activity in Saudi Arabia. A description of what happened; it does not isolate the occasion’s effect from other factors.

Releases: 26 September 2026 (15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH), 26 September 2026 (15 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)

Cards’ share of individual spending

Inputs: SAMA via KAPSARC: point of sale and ATM cash withdrawals.

Formula in words: Point-of-sale payments ÷ (point-of-sale payments + ATM cash withdrawals), yearly; latest full year 2025: 57%. An approximation: it excludes transfers and online purchases.

Demand-generator density around a district

A 0–100 score used for comparison in the shop tool, from Overture open maps (government bodies, hospitals, universities, malls, transport stations, offices). Its inputs, published weights and limits are on the Arabic version of this page(Arabic). It does not enter the tool’s verdict or threshold.