RIYADH: Saudis spent SR170.6 million ($45.4 million) on electronic devices between Feb. 16 and 22, marking a 4 percent increase compared to the previous week.

According to the latest point-of-sale transactions bulletin issued by the Saudi Central Bank, this sector was one of the few that registered positive growth during the week.

Outlays on clothing and footwear saw a 3.4 percent increase in transaction value to SR873.1 million, with transactions growing by 2.9 percent to 6.5 million.

Expenditure on furniture also saw boosts, surging 3.3 percent to SR359.3 million, while hotels followed with a 2 percent rise to SR367 million, and recreation and culture recorded a 0.9 percent uptick to SR269.7 million. 

In contrast, overall POS transactions in Saudi Arabia declined by 2.1 percent, dropping to SR13 billion from SR13.3 billion the previous week, as spending in other sectors cooled, revealed the bulletin issued by SAMA.

Similarly, spending on food and beverages recorded a decrease of 3.7 percent to SR1.904 billion, claiming the largest share of the total POS value. Expenditure in restaurants and cafes followed closely, recording a 1.7 percent decrease to SR1.903 billion. 

Miscellaneous goods and services accounted for the third biggest POS share, with a 3.7 percent downtick, reaching SR1.5 billion. 

The leading three categories accounted for approximately 41 percent, or SR5.3 billion, of the week’s total value.

At 11.6 percent, the most significant decrease occurred in spending on jewelry, leading total payments to SR262.7 million. 

Expenditures on public utilities followed, dipping by 7.7 percent to SR52.3 million, while spending in the health sector recorded a 7.3 percent fall to SR749.6 million.

Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing around 35.3 percent of the total, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.6 billion — a 2.6 percent decrease from the previous week. 

Jeddah followed with a 1.2 percent dip to SR1.8 billion, and Dammam came in third at SR646.2 million, down 2.1 percent. 

Tabuk experienced the most significant decrease in spending, falling 5.6 percent to SR229.4 million. 

Hail and Makkah followed, with declines of 1.9 percent and 0.1 percent, bringing their respective totals to SR196.9 million and SR555.8 million.

Tabuk and Makkah saw the largest decreases in terms of number of transactions, slipping 5.8 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, to 4.3 million and 8.4 million transactions.