A comparison of grocery basket prices at major Saudi retail chains and delivery apps during the current Ramadan season has revealed price differences of up to 20 percent for the same basket of staple food items, according to a survey conducted by Argaam across stores including Al Othaim, Danube, Panda, Carrefour, LuLu, Tamimi, and Al Mazraa.
How Wide Is the Price Gap?
The survey tracked prices for sixteen common household items — including fresh chicken, lamb, rice, cooking oil, eggs, dairy products, and pantry staples — across retailers from February to March 2026. Results showed that LuLu recorded the lowest total basket cost at approximately SAR 471, while Panda came in as the most expensive at around SAR 564. Speedi (Al Othaim) and Al Mazraa followed with competitive pricing at SAR 493 and SAR 491 respectively, while Carrefour and Danube fell in the mid-range at SAR 545 and SAR 523.
The widest variation was seen in protein items: a kilogram of lamb ranged from SAR 63.99 at the cheapest outlet to SAR 109.99 at the highest, a difference of over 70 percent for a single product. Fresh chicken and eggs also showed measurable variation, though cooking oil and basic staples like sugar, bread, and milk remained uniformly priced across most chains, reflecting tighter commodity pricing controls on essentials.
Ramadan Drives Record Consumer Activity
The survey comes at a time of elevated grocery demand across the Kingdom. Point-of-sale data shows that total consumer spending during Ramadan 2025 reached SAR 58.8 billion, a 21.2 percent increase from SAR 48.5 billion during the same season in 2024. The number of POS transactions rose to 803.6 million from 682.1 million the year before, reflecting both wider purchasing activity and higher spending per household.
The food and beverage sector accounted for the largest share of Ramadan spending at 15.6 percent of total POS sales — equating to SAR 9.2 billion in value during Ramadan 2025, up from SAR 7.7 billion a year earlier. Saudi families tend to stock up on essentials, purchase specialty Ramadan foods, and prepare for Eid Al-Fitr gatherings throughout the month, making this one of the most active retail periods of the year.
Apps and Digital Platforms Reshape Price Awareness
The growth of grocery delivery applications and online shopping platforms has added a new dimension to price competition in Saudi Arabia’s retail sector. Consumers increasingly compare prices across apps before purchasing, and the availability of multiple channels — including traditional hypermarkets, mid-size supermarkets, and digital delivery platforms — gives households more tools to optimize their grocery spend. Saudi Arabia’s food retail market is anchored by Al Othaim Markets, which leads in store count with approximately 412 branches, followed by Panda with around 213 locations and Al Mazraa with 98.
The price transparency enabled by these platforms is reshaping competitive dynamics among retailers and reinforcing the importance of value-based differentiation in one of the Kingdom’s most competitive consumer markets.
