Arab News
Arab News, Thu, Mar 13, 2025 | Ramadan 13, 1446
Saudi education spending rises 145% as students return, latest POS data shows
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s education sector saw a
notable rise in spending in the week ending March 8, climbing 144.6 percent to
SR200.7 million ($53.5 million) as students returned from a break.
Transaction volumes rose 7.6 percent to 116,000
across the category, after registering a 33.6 percent slump in the previous
week.
The latest point-of-sale data from the
Kingdom’s central bank showed this was the only sector posting growth over the
seven-day period, as consumer spending across the Kingdom contracted sharply.
Total POS transactions fell 25.5 percent to
SR13.09 billion, dowm from SR17.57 billion a week earlier.
Furniture sales led the decliners, falling 38.7
percent to SR321.5 million. Electronics spending slid 29.2 percent to SR159.1
million, while recreation and culture dropped 21.2 percent to SR266.5 million.
Spending on food and beverages recorded a decrease
of 38.1 percent to SR2.06 billion, claiming the biggest share of the total POS
value.
Expenditure in restaurants and cafes followed
closely, recording a 38.3 percent decrease to SR1.29 billion. Miscellaneous
goods and services ranked third, down 21.3 percent to SR1.66 billion. Together,
these three categories accounted for 38.3 percent — or SR5 billion — of total
weekly POS spending.
At 2.3 percent, the smallest decrease occurred in
spending on clothing and footwear, leading total payments to reach SR1.22
billion. Expenditures on jewelry followed dipping by 4.4 percent to SR319.7
million, while transportation recorded a 5.8 percent fall to SR790.8 million.
Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions,
representing around 34.9 percent of the total, with expenses in the capital
reaching SR4.58 billion — a 21.9 percent decrease from the previous week.
Jeddah followed with a 24.4 percent dip to SR1.85
billion, and Dammam came in third at SR666.6 million, down 21.4 percent.
Hail experienced the most significant decrease in
spending, dipping by 36 percent to SR188.4 million.
Abha and Tabuk followed, recording
decreases of 30.4 percent and 28.57 percent, reaching SR139.7 million and
SR239.4 million, respectively.
Hail and Buraidah saw the largest decreases in
terms of the number of transactions, slipping 27.2 percent and 23.4 percent,
respectively, to 2.9 million and 4 million transactions.