This issue was published 3 days late; it was due on Thursday 8 October 2026 (27 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH).
Card spending 2.2% higher than last year for the 14th week in a row
Value of point-of-sale payments in Saudi Arabia · week 27 September – 3 October 2026 · 16–22 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH
SAR 16,507.4 million
+2.2% against the same week last year (SAR 16,147.2 million).
| This week | Same week last year | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of transactions (million) | 273.9 | 253.0 | +8.3% |
| Average transaction value (SAR) = value ÷ number | 60.3 | 63.8 | −5.6% |
What this means for your decision: Spending across Saudi Arabia in the last 4 weeks was 4.0% higher than last year; sales growing more slowly than that most likely have a local cause, which a comparison with your city and activity shows.
The week and its counterpart last year have no Ramadan or Eid, and both have the same events, so the year-on-year comparison is seasonally like for like.
Three points
- Against the previous week +23.4%, and over the same two weeks last year +26.4%; a usual seasonal pattern, like last year.
- 12 of 19 main activities are above last year; fastest growth Telecommunications +22.8%, weakest Education −10.8%.
- Among the 10 largest cities, 6 are above last year; fastest Buraidah +5.7%, slowest Tabuk −5.5%.
Spending above the previous year in 45 of 52 weeks
Weekly point-of-sale payments in Saudi Arabia, 5 October 2025 – 3 October 2026 · 13 Rabi' al-Akhir 1447 – 22 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH, against the same weeks 364 days earlier. Shaded: Ramadan and the two Eids this year; their Gregorian dates differ in the previous year.
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), weekly point-of-sale data; DataPulse calculations. Latest week: 27 September – 3 October 2026 · 16–22 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH
What this means for your decision: The 4-week trend (above) says more than a single week.
Telecommunications fastest-growing, Education weakest this week
Change in spending by main activity against the same week last year, %.
| Activity | SAR million | Million transactions | Average transaction (SAR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telecommunications | 278.7 +22.8% | 6.2 +32.2% | 44.9 −7.1% |
| Public utilities | 73.4 +21.2% | 1.1 +23.5% | 68.2 −1.9% |
| Clothing and accessories | 1,305.6 +14.0% | 11.4 +14.1% | 114.7 −0.1% |
| Groceries and food | 2,979.8 +11.3% | 63.7 +11.4% | 46.8 −0.1% |
| Jewellery | 489.8 +7.4% | 0.4 +31.1% | 1,095.7 −18.1% |
| Restaurants and cafés | 1,893.5 +6.4% | 64.3 +6.2% | 29.4 +0.2% |
| Laundry | 73.7 +5.7% | 3.5 +4.4% | 21.2 +1.2% |
| Transport | 1,210.1 +2.4% | 8.3 +24.2% | 146.6 −17.6% |
| Health | 1,085.3 +2.1% | 11.6 +3.2% | 93.6 −1.0% |
| Fuel stations | 1,152.5 +1.5% | 19.8 +2.5% | 58.1 −1.0% |
| Culture and recreation | 441.9 +1.3% | 4.6 −5.7% | 95.6 +7.4% |
| Electronics | 229.6 +0.2% | 2.4 +20.8% | 95.6 −17.1% |
| Building materials | 461.6 −2.8% | 3.5 +36.8% | 133.0 −28.9% |
| Hotels | 280.5 −2.8% | 0.9 +10.8% | 329.3 −12.3% |
| Other activities | 2,556.9 −5.9% | 45.3 +4.4% | 56.4 −9.8% |
| Bakeries and sweets | 286.8 −8.3% | 6.9 −18.5% | 41.8 +12.5% |
| Professional services | 905.6 −9.5% | 16.8 +22.6% | 54.1 −26.2% |
| Furniture and home | 589.5 −10.0% | 3.1 +10.5% | 187.4 −18.5% |
| Education | 212.6 −10.8% | 0.2 −12.0% | 908.4 +1.4% |
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), weekly point-of-sale data; DataPulse calculations. Latest week: 27 September – 3 October 2026 · 16–22 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH
What this means for your decision: In the weakest activities demand is falling across the market; in the fastest, a shop growing more slowly than its activity is losing part of its share.
Buraidah fastest-growing of the 10 largest cities
Weekly spending of the 10 largest cities, SAR million.
| City | SAR million | vs previous week | vs same week last year | Million transactions | Average transaction (SAR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Riyadh | 5,623.8 | +20.0% | +2.2% | 90.0 +9.7% | 62.5 −6.9% |
| 2. Jeddah | 2,126.1 | +15.2% | −0.3% | 30.2 +4.2% | 70.5 −4.3% |
| 3. Dammam | 795.3 | +17.4% | +0.6% | 10.7 +3.4% | 74.2 −2.7% |
| 4. Makkah | 634.7 | +15.3% | +3.7% | 10.4 +6.2% | 60.7 −2.3% |
| 5. Madinah | 630.7 | +17.7% | +1.6% | 10.3 +3.3% | 61.0 −1.7% |
| 6. Al Khobar | 448.8 | +12.8% | −1.0% | 5.3 +3.5% | 83.9 −4.4% |
| 7. Buraidah | 413.9 | +19.5% | +5.7% | 6.0 +5.6% | 68.6 less than 0.1% |
| 8. Taif | 377.7 | +32.9% | less than 0.1% | 6.9 +2.1% | 55.0 −2.0% |
| 9. Khamis Mushait | 341.7 | +38.9% | −2.8% | 4.8 −0.5% | 70.7 −2.4% |
| 10. Tabuk | 316.8 | +48.8% | −5.5% | 5.5 −2.1% | 57.5 −3.4% |
Source: SAMA, same week.
After inflation, by region (estimate)
Change in the value of spending against the same week last year, before and after removing the rise in prices in the region: (1 + change) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1.
| Region | Before removing price rises | Annual inflation | After inflation (estimate) | Cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | +2.2% | +1.8% | +0.4% | all |
| Riyadh | +2.3% | +2.3% | less than 0.1% | 10 |
| Makkah | +0.5% | +1.8% | −1.3% | 6 |
| Eastern Province | −0.3% | +1.7% | −1.9% | 12 |
| Madinah | +0.2% | +1.5% | −1.3% | 3 |
| Qassim | +4.2% | −0.4% | +4.7% | 5 |
| Asir | −0.8% | +1.3% | −2.0% | 5 |
| Tabuk | −4.4% | +1.5% | −5.9% | 2 |
| Hail | +2.0% | +2.2% | −0.2% | 1 |
| Jazan | −3.2% | +0.9% | −4.0% | 7 |
| Najran | +1.0% | +2.4% | −1.3% | 2 |
| Al-Baha | −1.4% | +2.0% | −3.4% | 1 |
| Al-Jouf | less than 0.1% | +4.3% | −4.2% | 3 |
| Northern Borders | +2.1% | +3.6% | −1.4% | 3 |
Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for spending; General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), consumer price index, August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH), for inflation. Built on GASTAT data, modified, combined and calculated by DataPulse; not an official statistic or an endorsement by GASTAT.
The attribution statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs)
مبني على بيانات الهيئة العامة للإحصاء مع تعديل ودمج وحساب من «نبض البيانات»؛ ليس إحصاءً رسميًا ولا تزكية من الهيئة.
Estimate: a monthly regional inflation rate applied to one week, and the consumer basket does not match the card-spending basket. A region = the sum of its cities published by SAMA; “other cities” count towards Saudi Arabia only.
What this means for your decision: Saudi Arabia (+2.2%) is the reference for cities: those below it had a weaker local market this week, which does not mean your shop is weaker.
Calendar of the coming weeks
Announced calendar facts only, no forecasts.
Also present last year, so the comparison is balanced:
- 25–31 October 2026 · 14–20 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH: Government salaries on Tuesday 27 October (16 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH) (Ministry of Finance schedule).
Ramadan 1448 AH starts around Monday 8 February 2027 (1 Ramadan 1448 AH) by the Umm al-Qura calendar (the official start is by moon sighting), in 17 weeks.
What this means for your decision: The salary week was 20.2% higher than the average ordinary week over the last 52 weeks.
Figure of the week from outside spending
Annual inflation in the Riyadh region was +2.3% in August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH) for all items, against +1.8% for Saudi Arabia. GASTAT publishes the consumer price index monthly for each region; the gap means that prices in the region rose faster or slower than the Saudi average over a year.
Source: GASTAT — Consumer price index. Processing and calculations by DataPulse; not an official statistic or an endorsement by GASTAT.
Published by GASTAT on 15 September 2026 (4 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH). Details on the prices page. Reuse terms: GASTAT data use policy.
The attribution statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs; the English above is a summary)
المصدر: الهيئة العامة للإحصاء — الرقم القياسي لأسعار المستهلك. التنظيم والحساب من «نبض البيانات»، وليس إحصاءً رسميًا ولا تزكية من الهيئة.
Methodology
- Point-of-sale payments by card and mobile, from SAMA: 60 cities weekly, 30 activities for Saudi Arabia weekly (19 main and 11 sub-activities), and 60×30 monthly.
- Cash payments and online purchases are not included.
- City = location of the payment terminal, not where the buyer lives. Activity = the merchant’s classification at the bank.
- Figures are before removing price rises, so part of the growth is higher prices, not larger quantities.
- SAMA may revise its figures; we update earlier issues and say so here.
- The only estimate is the “after inflation” column; every other figure is published or calculated directly.
What changed: Newsletter methodology 1.1. Added the week 27 September – 3 October 2026 · 16–22 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH.