Al Meera Consumer Goods Company announced their partnership with Zippin, a leading provider of checkout-free technology, to open fully autonomous stores in strategic locations to provide visitors with snacks, beverages, grab-and-go meals, and other essential items in a seamless and cashier-less process.
In a statement, Al Meera said they are excited to introduce the new checkout-free stores to make shopping more convenient and fun for customers. They said that the step is part of their expansion plans to ensure that their services remain within the reach of all consumers.
This is also in line with the country’s strategy to achieve digital transformation, using modern technology solutions to promote cashless payment solutions and facilitate economic growth in accordance with Qatar National Vision 2030. The stores will enable customers to quickly grab their drinks and snacks, and complete transactions seamlessly.
Powered by Zippin
The stores, powered by Zippin’s multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) technology, will be situated in attractive locations in need of a mini-market to offer drinks and snacks, such as water, soft drinks, coffee, chips, nuts, doughnuts and more, to customers in a quick and self-service manner. The frictionless smart stores operate through a collection of cameras and sensors that track the customers from point of entry until they leave, making shopping transactions faster, simpler, less stressful and more enjoyable to customers.
The first outlet of the unmanned stores will open during the much-awaited FIFA World Cup 2022™ – part of Al Meera’s various initiatives to ensure that residents and visitors have a memorable experience during the mega event.
Zippin CEO and co-founder Krishna Motukuri said they are excited to partner with Al Meera and deliver frictionless shopping to customers. He said that having Zippin-powered stores in the Middle East for the first time shows the impressive traction of checkout-free shopping around the world.
It’s clear that shoppers love the convenience and speed: something we’ve proven time and again with each new Zippin-powered store.
The checkout-free stores’ software automatically identifies the items picked or put back, using overhead cameras and sensors, and creates a virtual shopping cart for each shopper. The shopper can put the items in their pocket, bag, purse or simply carry them and the software will directly charge the cost of the purchased items from the customers’ credit card as soon as they leave the shop. The stores will significantly reduce the time customers spend buying a drink or snack from minutes to seconds.
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