It relies on artificial intelligence and "blockchain"

Outlets and "cooperatives" expand the transformation into smart systems

• The expansion of smart systems keeps pace with recent trends in the retail sector.

  Photography: Ahmed Arditi

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Officials with sales outlets stated that they are currently working on implementing plans to expand the application of smart systems and solutions in the retail trade sector, including providing new services to consumers in various fields.

They indicated to "Emirates Today" that the expansion of smart systems, some of which have started to be implemented recently, and some will be implemented before the end of this year, keep pace with modern trends in the sector, by moving towards "automation" that the state stimulates, pointing out that the most prominent systems are They include implementing AI solutions and blockchain services, and purchasing and paying for goods without dealing with account clerks.

next period

In detail, the Director General of the Emirates Cooperative Society, Muhammad Yusuf Al-Khaja, said that “(the association) intends during the coming period to expand the implementation of plans for smart systems, in order to provide innovative services to consumers,” indicating that “the most prominent of those services, which are currently under development, are A service based on artificial intelligence techniques to provide services through the association's dedicated application by monitoring consumer trends when purchasing goods, analyzing that data, and thus providing a service for identifying preferred products for each consumer according to his purchase pattern, and clarifying the locations of preferred goods and their prices automatically via the application, and offers Raised ».

He added, "It is expected that (the association) will introduce these smart systems during the third quarter of this year to consumers in order to enter into operation, while looking at opportunities for expansion with new services that allow self-payment of purchases without the help of payment funds employees."

Smart services

In turn, the general manager of Ajman Markets Cooperative Society, Sami Muhammad Shaban, said that “(the cooperative) is currently working on implementing plans to expand with new smart services in its outlets during the coming period, including allowing consumers to choose and buy various products and pay their purchases on their own, without the help of Account staff », pointing out that« this service, which is expected to be launched during the first half of this year, will allow consumers to wait time in account boxes, and are among the smart trends in the retail trade sector.

Expansion plans

For his part, Director of Marketing and Happiness Department at Union Coop, Dr. Suhail Al-Bastaki, said that “(the cooperative) has plans to expand the transformation to smart systems, the most prominent of which includes the application of the invoice system or the smart receipt, which allows consumers to obtain smart receipts through the application ( Tawuniya), in addition to the recent launch of a smart navigation service through the application, which provides consumers with the ability to quickly access the locations of the goods they need at the outlet, and know their prices without the need to search and ask employees, and take time to reach every commodity they need.

He pointed out that «(the cooperative) intends to continue during the coming period in the application of smart systems, as it is one of the necessary future directions in the retail sector, which will be a new competitive field for the various outlets».

Retail trade

For his part, CEO of "Majid Al Futtaim Retail", the operator of "Carrefour" stores, Hani Weiss, said that "(the company) has recently implemented plans to transform smart systems in the retail sector, and intends to expand these solutions during the coming period." "The most prominent of those plans that the company worked to implement was the opening of the first automated center for preparing online orders in the branch (Carrefour) in (Ibn Battuta Mall) in Dubai, supported by robots and artificial intelligence."

He added that "(the center) allows automating the task of managing requests and reducing the time required to deal with them in half, while (the company) intends to open two similar additional centers in the first half of this year."

He pointed out that «the company has recently completed the implementation of smart solutions using (blockchain) technology in the centers of (Carrefour) through the (QR Code) feature, which allows consumers through smart phones to know all the data related to fresh food commodities at all stages of production.

Smart transformation plans

Abdul Hamid Al-Khashabi, the spokesperson for the centers of the "Aswaaq Group", affiliated to the Dubai Government Investments Corporation, said that "(the group) has implemented plans for smart transformation, and is seeking to expand further in them during the coming period."

He explained that, "For example, a model has been completed for a store in one of the residential complexes in Dubai, under the name (Inbox), and is fully functional with smart automation systems, without the presence of any employees inside, whether for accountants or others, and in a way that allows an integrated experience of shopping and self-payment."

He added that «(the group) is currently looking for opportunities to expand smart systems, and to establish additional models in various locations.

Innovative solutions include providing new services to consumers in various fields.

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