Carrefour opens its first-ever AI-run supermarket in UAE

It is a well-established fact that automation is the future of the industry and is permeating almost all sectors. Now UAE is also picking up its pace of adopting automation to make life easier for its citizens. Carrefour at the Mall of Emirates recently unveiled the first automated Artificial Intelligence (AI) supermarket.

The past year made us recognize the importance of contact-less service. And that is the main basis for this concept. Majid Al Futtaim Retail has inaugurated its first Carrefour Care+ convenience store. This store is the pinnacle of seamless and contactless service.

The launch event

This store was launched by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama (Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications). Alain Bejjani (the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding) and Hani Weiss (CEO @MajidAlFuttaim – Retail) were also present.

A simple process

Customers have to download and install the Carrefour mobile phone app to access the store. The app then generates a unique QR code for scanning on the scanners placed at the entrance. Upon scanning, the doors to the store open automatically. They can then carry out the shopping, and the picked items will be automatically added to the digital shopping cart.

State of the art facilities

The store has got a presence of 24/7 surveillance. It is possible on account of 97 CCTV cameras monitoring the store to scope out any suspicious activity. The cameras are powerful enough to track every product through AI. The prediction is also 99 percent accurate. Also, motion sensors is there to track the person and identify the product. 

The store is completely stocked with around 1,300 different products. The products range from snacks, drinks, and pre-packed foods, among other things.

This store, according to experts, will put an end to the bottlenecking foot traffic near checkout points. Every item that customer picks is automatically added to their digital baskets. Payment is then done digitally. Thanks to this, the customers don’t have to wait in line for the cashier for cash transactions.

This convenience store will be a model for all the up-and-coming Carrefour stores. The team will monitor customer behavior and will make changes as per that in the coming stores. So we can expect more of these stores to begin popping up. Hopefully, one opens up near your place of residence.