A Snap–Kearney study found an 8-point gap between Saudi digital ad-spend growth and e-commerce growth; 30%+ of Saudi consumers find advertising culturally off-key.
The takeaway: A third of Saudi consumers feel that the ads don't represent them; the biggest growth driver isn't budget, but rather cultural fluency.
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Rent eases in Riyadh
The ratio of rent burden to household income in Riyadh fell to around 15% from more than 17.5% in September 2025, Real Estate General Authority CEO Abdullah Al-Hammad said, describing it as one of the first measured effects of the real estate balance decisions, more than 18 months after they were approved. He said the most financially vulnerable households had been spending more than 30% of their income on rent.
Investors looking at Riyadh residential yields should adjust their rent-growth expectations from above 17.5% to about 15%. This change is important because the authority has now linked its credibility to this target.
Fifty-five thousand homes
Talaat Moustafa Group's Saudi subsidiary signed a preliminary agreement with PIF-owned ROSHN Group to form a joint company exploring a mixed-use development in Riyadh expected to comprise more than 55,000 residential units, alongside retail, commercial, hospitality, entertainment, healthcare and education facilities. TMG Saudi will hold 51% of the joint company and ROSHN 49%, following a 7 June memorandum of understanding under PIF's urban development and livability ecosystem, part of its 2026-2030 strategy and the Kingdom's 70% homeownership target.
The minority stake shows that PIF is bringing in execution expertise. Developers who want to win Saudi residential projects should focus on improving their delivery track record instead of just acquiring more land.
Spending cooled by 1.7 billion
Point-of-sale transactions fell to SR14.6 billion in the week to 8 August from SR16.31 billion the week before, with transaction count down to 253.4 million from 267.1 million, Riyadh accounted for SR4.88 billion of it, or 33.4%. Food and beverages led at SR2.28 billion across 58.41 million transactions, ahead of restaurants and cafes at SR1.9 billion.
The data shows that average spending has gone down. In reality, it's still the same people going out just as often, but now they pick cheaper options when they get there.
