Dubai: Technology companies offering retail-oriented software and related services say they expect demand to jump when new retail developments in the country are completed.
Speaking at Gitex Technology Week in Dubai, Vic Bageria, chief executive of Savant Data System, said that demand for retail technologies in the UAE has been strong in the last few years due to customers increasingly becoming tech-savvy and the opening of more shopping centres. He noted that this trend is expected to continue as new retail projects are completed in the next few years, such as the one at Mall of the World and Meydan One mall, both in Dubai.
“The biggest driver [of demand for retail technologies] is the government’s smart city initiative… these government initiatives are driving a lot of retailers to be up on the game… retail has been a big booster of the economy in the region… it’s just going to grow with the new developments coming in,” he added.
Sales of Savant’s retail solutions in the UAE have grown by 25 per cent annually in the last seven years, he said. Even though sales were “not very good” this year because “there were not many new developments”, he expects a jump in sales in the next two years, with the delivery of new retail projects.
Savant offers solutions like people counting systems and in-store analytics. Its clients include Reef Mall in Dubai and Bawadi Mall in Al Ain.
Sunil Mathew, executive vice-president of Focus, said that malls need to be equipped with technologies to ensure that consumers visit again.
“There is a lot of demand when it comes to retail solutions. Customer requirements and needs are growing rapidly that you need to keep pace with these, and to manage that you need to always be innovative in what you provide your customers from the technological perspective. Today you walk into a mall, it’s the convenience and technology around you that helps you decide whether you want to revisit the mall,” he said.
Focus, which provides software that helps retailers manage their billing and stocking, has seen a 20 per cent growth in its retail solutions sales year to September compared to the same period in 2014, he said.
Mazen Arawi, IoT (Internet of Things) solutions expert at SAP, said that the company is working on a “smart mall” initiative to help “simplify consumers’ shopping experience”. Through this initiative, which is expected to be launched by the end of the current year, SAP will roll out sensors that help retailers know where customers are located and solutions that help them manage their stock, among others.
“The technologies allow me to predict how many customers I am going to have and I can also adjust my supply chain because if I am running out of products, I can order ahead of time,” he said.
