RIYADH: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in an increase in online spending in Saudi Arabia and people are increasingly switching to contactless payments, Visa reported in its COVID-19 CEMEA Impact Tracker study. The study tracks the impact of the pandemic on consumer attitudes and spending across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It showed that 61 percent of the Saudis surveyed reported an increase in their online spending, and 90 percent will continue to shop online even once the pandemic is over. “Our research shows how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way the region’s consumers spend their money, with many of these significant behavioral changes likely to continue after the pandemic is over,” said Ali Bailoun, Visa’s general manager for Saudi Arabia. The study also showed that digital payments remain the preferred method for transactions, with 60 percent of consumers reporting increasing their usage of digital payment methods. Visa’s survey showed that COVID-19 pandemic created significant opportunities for the ecommerce sector.