The Shoura Council had discussed the issue of introducing a new regulation binding all commercial shops to open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. There was also the suggestion in the council to exclude grocery stores and coffee shops located on highways from the purview of this time schedule. It was suggested to levy special fees from these shops by the concerned municipalities to allow them to work around the clock.
Some people say that there should be a total review of the matter, taking into account public interests. They noted that weekdays are quite different from the weekend, as far as sales of commercial shops and cafes are concerned.
Speaking to Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper, a number of prominent figures and traders examined various aspects of the issue.
Economic consultant Fadl bin Saad Al-Buainain highlighted the significance of reviewing the issue of opening and closure of commercial shops in the Kingdom. “All aspects of the issue must be taken into account. There should be a comprehensive study encompassing all commercial sectors, without any exception. All these sectors are interlinked, and hence there should be coordination among them to serve broad public interests and ward off any negative impacts,” he said.
Al-Buainain drew attention to the fact that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and the central bank had unified and changed working hours of commercial banks without taking into account its impact on other commercial sectors. “The national economy is in dire need of reviewing official working hours of commercial sectors as well as the government and private sectors in a way that creates harmony among them, as in the case of Western countries,” he said.
Al-Buainain is of the view that all shops and commercial markets in the Kingdom may be closed at 10 p.m. “There should be an exception for restaurants, cafes and pharmacies, whose time could be extended to 2 a.m. Similarly, commercial shops along highways as well as those located at gasoline stations could be allowed to work 24 hours,” he said while suggesting that pharmacies could be open the whole night on rotation.
Referring to various aspects of the issue, Al-Buainain said: “On the economic aspect, long hours of commercial shops pose a big burden on utility services such as electricity. It also produces a negative impact on implementing Saudization plans, especially among shops with women workers. The situation under which shops remain open until late night also leads to prolonged traffic movement, which involves consumption of more fuel, in addition to other expenses for individuals and families.”
Referring to the social aspect, he said that closure of shops at 10 p.m. would serve the interests of traders who run their shops by themselves. This enables them to engage in other social activities in addition to taking care of their family matters, he said. “On the security aspect, early closure of shops would help safeguard the security to a great extent. This would also help prevent many of the illegal activities and transactions being undertaken late at night,” he said.
Abdul Salam Al-Yamani, deputy chairman of public affairs at the Saudi Electricity Company, told the newspaper that reorganizing the opening and closing hours of commercial outlets in line with international timings would lead to safeguard national resources. “The SEC is supporting all initiatives and programs aimed at prudent use of electricity. This would be beneficial to the national economy as a whole. The present system of allowing commercial outlets to use electricity for long hours incurs huge losses for the government, which is making available of the energy to all segments of society and sectors of life at subsidized rates,” he said, adding that there had been an annual rise of eight percent in the demand for electricity in the Kingdom.
Suleiman Al-Qanas, director general of utility services at Riyadh governorate, said that there already is a directive to restrict opening hours of commercial outlets. “The directive is applicable to all commercial outlets throughout the Kingdom. Under the system, shops with an area of less than 400 sq. meters would be allowed to work until midnight, while those shops above 400 sq. meters located on major streets as well as pharmacies and petrol stations would be allowed to work around the clock. As for restaurants and cafes that serve meals, they can work until 2 a.m. and until morning prayer during Ramadan,” he said, while underlining the need for constituting a committee to review the issue thoroughly.
On his part, Turki Al-Rowaili, director of marketing at a major shopping mall, said the interests of customers should be the first and foremost thing while reviewing working hours of commercial outlets. “Fulfilling customers’ interests to have access to any product or service at reasonable prices whenever they want is of paramount interest for any shop or superstore,” he said while citing the large numbers of late hour customers at hypermarkets.
Echoing the same view, Majed Shalah, director of shops at another mall, noted that about 40 percent of sales at shops take place during the peak hours between 9 and 11 in the evening. “This shows the desire of customers to do shopping during night. Extension of working hours of commercial shops up to 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m. is ideal and would further boost investment and promote tourism,” he said.
Salem bin Saeed, who runs a coffee shop, demanded that coffee shops be allowed to work until late hours, as in the case of pharmacies.
Nawf Al-Abdullah, a Saudi woman, noted that most customers start shopping after Isha prayers, mainly to avoid interruptions caused by prayer breaks. “It is important for them to get sufficient time to do their all shopping after Isha prayers and to take their children to fun cities for recreation,” she said.
