Saudi Arabia Sets Global Standard in Mobile-First Shopping Fueled by Female Consumers

Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming a world leader in mobile-first shopping, driven by a surge of female shoppers and merchants integrating physical and digital retail. The “2025 Global Digital Shopping Index: Saudi Arabia Edition,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Acceptance Solutions, reveals that Saudi consumers engage in mobile shopping more frequently than global peers, with Saudi women leading this digital retail transformation.

Despite high engagement, 96% of Saudi consumers report experiencing checkout issues, highlighting a critical need for retailers to improve payment processes to enhance satisfaction and loyalty. Saudi merchants are among the global frontrunners in adopting cross-channel shopping, seamlessly blending online and in-store experiences to meet consumer demand for convenience.

Notably, older Saudi consumers shop on mobile nearly as often as younger generations, indicating a broadly mobile-savvy population shaping commerce’s future.

The report is based on surveys of 18,468 consumers and 3,464 merchants across eight countries, including detailed insights from over 2,100 Saudi consumers and 240 Saudi merchants.