DAMMAM, 6 February 2008 — In light of increasing consumer prices, some Saudis have reported to pooling their money and buying in bulk.
“I started buying along with my six neighbors,” said Saudi Abdul Aziz Abdullah. “Each one of us pays SR500 and we then buy and divide everything equally among ourselves. This has saved 40 percent of our monthly expenses.”
Abdul Latif Al-Salim told Al-Watan daily in an article published yesterday that at first he was not convinced of the idea.
“I did not want to join in at first because I was convinced that the products that each family needs differ from that of the other,” said Al-Salim. “I did not expect that I can save half of the money I usually spend. Each one of us would write his list. We agree on the milk, rice, fruit and vegetables, bread, flour, oil and drinks that we need. Then the person assigned would go and bring the goods which would be distributed among us.”
Khaled Al-Ali said that some people living nearby wanted to join. “We cannot expand to a bigger group because of the variety of the choices each family might need,” he added.
Jameela, a mother of three, has previously told Arab News that she and her friends tend to buy their goods together to save cash.
The manager of a shop in Dammam, Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, said that many Saudis are now buying from him in pools.
“This is a new thing which was not present before among Saudis,” he said. “Only expatriates used to buy together. People are becoming more aware of prices. They are more keen in checking on price of every item and comparing products unlike before,” added Al-Ghamdi.
