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Now, Shop at Mall of the Emirates Through WhatsApp
An entire mall in Dubai is now open for business via WhatsApp.
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Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, a leading mall operator in the UAE and region, has launched a digital concierge at the Mall of the Emirates which allows shoppers to buy any product across the mall’s 350 local and international brands via WhatsApp.
“A shopping mall is no longer a traditional business, but more about experiences. In the past, people used to come, shop and leave. But now it is more experiential,” said Fuad Sharaf, Managing Director for UAE Shopping Malls at Majid Al Futtaim Properties. “Now, consumers can buy any product from The Mall of the Emirates through WhatsApp where they can interact and communicate with the concierge team. The team can even help customers in purchasing any item from the mall. It is just like the entire mall coming to you,”
This service, which is currently free in the UAE, will be expanded later to the group’s entire mall portfolio.
Majid Al Futtaim’s shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt, Mall of Oman, City Centre Malls, My City Centre neighbourhood centres, and five community malls which are in a joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. It also owns franchisee for Carrefour in over 30 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, operating a portfolio of more than 420 outlets.
People can scan a QR code in the Mall of the Emirates and on its website which will connect to the mall’s representative on WhatsApp live. Once the customer has selected a product, he/ she can send the photograph on WhatsApp and the representative will collect it from the store and arrange for it to be delivered to the customer’s home.
“Once the customer and representative agree that this is the product a customer wants, a payment link will be sent to him/her. Once the payment is made, the team will pick up the item from the store, package it and arrange for it to be delivered to the customer’s house. That means everything in the mall is shoppable physically or digitally,” Sharaf said.
For refunds and returns, customers need to contact the store directly to check the policy.
In addition, the group is also expanding its product range on the Mall of the Emirates website. SOURCE: KHALEEJ TIMES | 19 OCT 2022 https://bit.ly/3TTYI9I
Dubai Luxury Retailer Rivoli Brings a Fine Eye to its Alliance with Zeiss
Dubai: Want your vision tested? Then how about helping you choose an eyewear frame from among thousands of options? Within minutes?
If the answer to all of the above is a ‘yes’, then the alliance of Rivoli, the luxury retailer, and the fabled German optical lens firm Zeiss will deliver you that experience. With a touch of AI. The partnership has so far opened two outlets – Zeiss Vision Center - where they meld eye care with eyewear, and this is where the AI part of it kicks in. The Artificial Intelligence platform will help the designated eye care professional at the store advise the customer on the most suitable frames. And not just a handful of them either.
The AI – helped by 9 integrated cameras that form the Zeiss Visufit 1000 digital central platform - will come up with 3D images of the face. As an avatar, of course – and with which ‘thousands of frames’ can be tried on virtually. Until the customer chances upon the suitable one.
Eye care-and-wear retailing sure is changing, maybe not in the blink of an eye but fast enough. “There is so much of overlap between these, which is where the Zeiss Vision Center came into being,” said Subbaiah A.P, Director of Rivoli Vision. “The retail offering was a natural extension of the deal we entered into with Zeiss in November last year. Where Rivoli could bring in all its background in luxury eyewear retail and then pair with Zeiss’ background in optical perfection.”
The two stores that have opened as a result of the union are at Dubai Hills Mall and in Qatar’s Doha Festival City. In addition, Dubaiheadquartered Rivoli Group also owns and operates eyewear retail concepts such as EyeZone, Style88 and the top-of-the-line Avanti.
“We believe that the potential of offering a combination of eyecare support and eyewear curation hasn’t been fully realised,” said Subbaiah. “There are stores that may do a bit of both, but bringing a full range of potential choices to this extent has not been done. We wanted to make that leap, and last November’s Zeiss partnership set that rolling.” SOURCE: GULF NEWS | 12 OCT 2022 (https://bit.ly/3N1ZTkM)
