Spending in Samtah: all activities

Card spending in Samtah (صامطة) 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 Samtah · week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH

23.0 SAR million

+9.7% against the same week last year · rank 38 of 60 cities · 0.2% of Saudi Arabia's spending this week

What this means for your decisionLast 3 months: Samtah +8.3% 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 48.8, lowest 20.0.

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)

1,629SAR million, all spending · +8.3% in the last 3 months against last year · SAMA

37,612SAR per person per year: 12 months of spending ÷ 2022 Census population (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT))

43,301population · 2022 Census (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT))

Transactions in the same week

0.7million transactions · +8.3% against the same week last year

32.6SAR average transaction value (value ÷ number) · +1.3% 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 Samtah(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	334	−5.0%	20.5%
02	Other	315	+16.2%	19.3%
03	Restaurants and cafés	223	+18.9%	13.7%
04	Clothing and footwear	125	+38.3%	7.7%
05	Transport	107	+51.3%	6.6%
06	Health	105	−12.7%	6.5%
07	Professional services	82	−44.2%	5.0%
08	Jewellery	65	+56.4%	4.0%
09	Building materials	65	−30.0%	4.0%
10	Pharmacies	51	−30.9%	3.1%
11	Fuel stations	48	+23.5%	2.9%
12	Vehicle trade	42	+19.7%	2.6%
13	Medical services	40	+2.4%	2.4%
14	Furniture and furnishings	39	+27.0%	2.4%
15	Freight and courier	32	+97.3%	2.0%
16	Bakeries and sweets	28	−7.2%	1.7%
17	Vehicle maintenance	26	+112.7%	1.6%
18	Recreation and culture	24	+69.8%	1.5%
19	Electronics	21	+110.3%	1.3%
20	Telecommunications	20	+28.8%	1.3%
21	Recreation	17	+96.1%	1.0%
22	Personal care	14	+59.4%	0.9%
23	Public utilities	8	+6.3%	0.5%
24	Laundries	8	−2.9%	0.5%
25	Books and stationery	7	+19.9%	0.4%
26	Education	6	+1015.9%	0.4%
27	Other transport	5	−43.3%	0.3%
28	Hotels	4	+56.7%	0.3%
29	Car rental	1	+189.1%	0.1%
30	Airlines	1	−41.5%	0.1%

Detailed pages

Restaurants and cafés in Samtah Groceries and food in Samtah Bakeries and sweets in Samtah Total spending in Samtah

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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