Saudi Consumer Spending Rises 8% in July 2026

Consumer activity across Saudi Arabia stayed strong in July 2026, with total consumer spending reaching about SAR 144.95 billion — an 8% year-on-year rise from roughly SAR 134.51 billion in July 2025. The figures point to healthy domestic demand carrying the economy through the middle of the year.

Point-of-sale (PoS) transactions made up a large share of that activity. PoS sales value came in at about SAR 62.8 billion in July, up around 7% year-on-year, with roughly 1.1 billion transactions processed through some 2.5 million devices nationwide. In the week ending 25 July 2026 alone, PoS spending reached about SAR 12.26 billion across roughly 226 million transactions. Food and beverages accounted for about SAR 1.91 billion (around 15.6%), while restaurants and cafés drew about SAR 1.64 billion (around 13.4%).

Online shopping continued its rapid climb. E-commerce payments made via Mada cards reached about SAR 37.6 billion in July, a 26% jump compared with the same month last year — a clear sign that residents are increasingly comfortable buying online.

Business activity and inflation

The non-oil private sector Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 53.1 in July, slightly below June's 53.3 but still firmly in expansion territory, driven mainly by local demand rather than export orders. On prices, annual inflation was a modest 1.8% in July compared with July 2025, with housing, water, electricity and fuel rising 4.2%, food and beverages 1.5%, and transport 1.4%. On a monthly basis, prices edged up just 0.2%.

For residents and shoppers, the picture is one of stable prices alongside rising spending. Consumer spending in the first quarter of 2026 had already totaled about SAR 425 billion, up 6.8% year-on-year, underlining the resilience of household demand as the country moves through 2026.

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