Saudi Arabia’s restaurant technology market, once driven primarily by compliance and digitization mandates, is showing signs of a deeper evolution in operator priorities.
New independent research from Headway Jordan, conducted in December 2025, surveyed 501 POS users across Saudi Arabia, aimed to understand how merchants evaluate POS providers, measure system success, and perceive emerging capabilities such as AI.
The findings suggest that POS decision-making criteria may be shifting.
While brand recognition has historically played a dominant role in vendor selection, the study indicates that merchants increasingly evaluate systems based on operational and financial outcomes. When asked how they measure POS success, respondents ranked increased sales, fast onboarding, streamlined operations, and fewer system errors among the most important indicators.
Perception metrics such as brand name, while still influential, appear less dominant in certain segments.
For example, among surveyed Foodics users, 57% cited brand name as a primary selection driver. By contrast, merchants citing TabSense more frequently pointed to system features and ease of use, highlighting a divergence in decision logic rather than a uniform market trend.
Customer satisfaction results further illustrate performance differences across vendors.
Using a Customer Satisfaction Index (Market = 100), both TabSense and Foodics scored above market averages in several dimensions. TabSense recorded particularly strong results in simplicity and ease of use, while Foodics demonstrated competitive strength in technical issue resolution.
Usability appears increasingly tied to merchant experience.
When combining respondents categorized as “highly interested” and “curious,” approximately 70% of restaurant operators expressed willingness to explore AI-driven tools. Interest levels were strongest for features associated with revenue growth and decision support.
Saudi Arabia’s foodservice industry grew from roughly 112,000 active restaurants in 2024 to an estimated 140,000 by the end of 2025, intensifying competition and operational complexity.
As merchant expectations evolve, POS systems appear increasingly evaluated not just as transaction infrastructure, but as contributors to economic performance.