Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Kuwait consumer spending reaches record high

Kuwait's consumer spending data showed rapid adoption of ecommerce and electronic payments and a drop in the value of ATM withdrawals Alamy via Reuters
Kuwait's consumer spending data showed rapid adoption of ecommerce and electronic payments and a drop in the value of ATM withdrawals
  • Spending up 4.4% from 2023
  • Declining demand for cash
  • Growing ecommerce market

Consumer spending in Kuwait hit record levels in 2024, underpinned by a growing preference for card payments and a thriving ecommerce industry.  

Figures from the Central Bank of Kuwait for 2024 showed spending reached KD47.81 billion ($155.7 billion), a rise of 4.4 percent from the previous year. 

The figures show an increase in card payments and a declining demand for cash. 

Point-of-sale transactions, both domestically and internationally, reached nearly KD19 billion last year, an increase of 8 percent. 

The value of ATM withdrawals decreased by nearly 6 percent to KD10 billion. 

The banking regulator figures also showed an increase in online transactions, which signalled the growing popularity of ecommerce. 

High mobile penetration and a young population with high disposable income resulted in electronic payments, both within and outside Kuwait, increasing by 7 percent, to reach a total of KD19 billion. 

Qusai Al Shatti, director general of Kuwait’s Central Agency for Information Technology, told local media in November that the ecommerce market is expected to grow at a rate of 12.5 percent in the next three years. 

Riyadh-based market analysis company Sico Research said in a note that the consumer spending increase “has been a surprise”. 

“Some can be attributed to inflation,” Sico said, adding that “the question is if this is sustainable”.

Joe Abi Akl, head of retail and consumer for India, the Middle East and Africa at Oliver Wyman, said the surge in Kuwait’s consumer activity is “fuelled by strong economic growth across the GCC, rising consumer confidence, and the rapid adoption of digital commerce and electronic payments”.

“While inflationary pressures and a rising consumer price index drive overall spending, they also put increasing strain on disposable income,” he said. 

Kuwait’s economy at a glance

Part of the reason behind the unexpected growth could be down to companies offering discounts and cutting prices to remain competitive. 

S&P’s global purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which measures business activity, said earlier this month that advertising and discounting were among the factors supporting strong growth in Kuwait’s non-oil private sector. 

Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, told AGBI that companies in Kuwait regularly speak about the importance of competitive pricing when it comes to securing new orders and raising business activity. 

“The December PMI actually showed a reduction in selling prices across the non-oil private sector in Kuwait for the first time in 16 months as companies looked to offer discounts,” Harker said. 

He said companies “are expecting business activity to expand over the coming year” because of marketing plans, improving economic conditions and competitive pricing.

NBK, however, said the Central Bank figures also showed that consumer spending activity slowed in the fourth quarter to 0.8 percent, compared to the previous quarter. 

Card transaction volumes in the third quarter grew (by value) 4.6 percent year on year, NBK said, making it the first time since 2015 that the last quarter spending volumes were lower in the normally busier fourth-quarter period (-0.6 percent). 

“We think the bulk of the spending growth slowdown has run its course, with 2025 potentially stable or even showing a modest increase in line with improving economic activity prospects, steady employment, moderating inflation and potentially lower interest rates,” the bank said in its quarterly economic brief. 

Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, general manager for the Middle East and North Africa at financial services company Checkout.com, told AGBI earlier this month that the preference for cash on delivery in the Gulf region has halved from 41 percent to 20 percent over the past four years.

“Countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait have seen cash usage drop to as low as 10 percent, reflecting broader acceptance of digital payments,” he said.